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Lunar New Year 2024 - Key dates and impact on logistics

“Year of the Dragon” begins on February 10, 2024. It is the biggest festival in Chinese communities where people celebrate the beginning of a new year with their families.

During the festive period, most businesses and factories in mainland China will be closed, and production will be suspended.

• Chinese suppliers start to wind down operations one to two weeks in advance of the public holiday. Even though the official holiday only lasts for a week, most factories close for an entire month and some even longer.
• While businesses are closed and there are minimal production from mainland China, carriers will deploy less capacity to and from mainland China.
• Holiday impact is about two months. Therefore, companies that are dependent upon Chinese or Asian suppliers are likely to stock up inventories, this leads to a pre-holiday cargo rush, and it will also take some time after the festival to normalize the market conditions.

• While we try our best to minimize any possible interruptions to your supply chain, you can also help us by considering the following:
• Communicate with your suppliers and customers to make arrangements for sufficient stock and manage expectations
• Discuss your planning with us and prepare an accurate shipment forecast for long-term planning, so we can offer you the most suitable solution that fits your budget and schedule
• Place your booking earlier and pay attention to the cut-off dates.
  • For sea freight, it is recommended to book 4-6 weeks before the start of holiday
  • For air freight, it is recommended to book 1-2 weeks before the start of holiday

Apart from Mainland China, other regions in Asia Pacific also celebrate the festival, please refer to below public holidays where DACHSER branches will be closed:

• Mainland China - February 9 - 17
• Hong Kong - February 10 - 13
• Taiwan - February 8 - 14
• Indonesia – February 9-10
• Korea - February 9 - 12
• Malaysia - February 10 - 12
• Singapore - February 10 - 12
• Vietnam - February 8 - 14

If you have suppliers or production lines in China or in APAC countries, please get in touch with us to work out an operational logistics plan, and we can collaboratively make a robust forecast through the Lunar New Year period and beyond.

At DACHSER, we work at our best to ensure the flow of goods before, during and after the Lunar New Year holiday.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with your local DACHSER representative to plan the next steps together.

New Import Control System in the European Union

The European Union (EU) will implement the Import Control System 2 (ICS 2) on March 01, 2023. ICS 2 will fully replace the current ICS 1 system, which has been in place for many years.

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Incoterms 2020

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will soon release the new Incoterms 2020, providing certainty and clarity to businesses trading across borders. The new Incoterms will be effective as of January 1st, 2020.

Every 10 years, the International Chamber of Commerce evaluates and revises the International Commercial Terms, better known as Incoterms, as a means of creating greater uniformity and effectiveness across the shipping industry. The latest version, Incoterms 2010, will stay in effect until January 2020.

What does "Incoterms" stand for?

It is an acronym standing for international commercial terms. Incoterms is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce, registered in several countries.

The Incoterms rules feature abbreviations for terms, like FOB (“Free on Board”), DAP (“Delivered at Place”), EXW (“Ex Works”), CIP (“Carriage and Insurance Paid To”), which all have very precise meanings for the sale of goods around the world. These terms hold universal meaning for buyers and sellers around the world.

The main Incoterms changes that are being considered are:

• The removal of FAS (Free Alongside Ship) as it is being used infrequently;
• Separating FCA (Free Carrier) into two separate Incoterms: one for road delivery and one for maritime delivery;  
• The committee is also considering bringing back the terms FOB (Free on Board) and CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight), instead of the FCA and CIP (Cost and Insurance Paid to) used for non-container shipments;
• There is also a debate about the creation of a new Incoterms called CNI (Cost and Insurance) to bridge the gap between FCA and CFR/CIF (Cost and Freight/Cost, Insurance, Freight). Currently, FCA includes the cost of international insurance on account of the seller-exporter, while CFR/CIF does not include the cost of freight;
• Lastly, to alleviate questions surrounding the party responsible for paying Customs fees, the ICC will evaluate the creation of 2 Incoterms to replace DDP (Delivered Duty Paid).

Other issues and updates being evaluated during this round include:

• Transportation security
• Regulations on transportation insurance
• Relationship between the Incoterms and the International Sale Contract

We will provide another update once the official Incoterms 2020 rules have been announced by the ICC. Please contact us if you have any questions.