Time to read: 2 min

In 2023 Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, comes early—starting January 21st. Here’s what you need to know.

Key Takeaways

  • Chinese New Year creates a period of downtime for overseas manufacturers from January 18th – January 29th 2023.
  • We recommend placing international orders within the next few weeks to avoid that downtime — especially injection molding orders requiring new tooling. 
  • Our domestic 3D printing, CNC machining and injection molding partners are unaffected by the holiday.

Why Chinese New Year Disrupts Manufacturing Production

The official Chinese holiday runs this year from January 21st – January 27th. During this time, people leave the industrial cities of coastal China en masse to return to their hometowns — 1.5 billion trips occur during Chinese New Year. 

Why Does Chinese New Year Date Change Every Year?

The date is determined by the lunar calendar, which is based on the cycles of the moon and sun. The lunar calendar is generally 21–51 days behind the Gregorian calendar that is the standard calendar of international business.

The exact date of Chinese New Year changes every year, but it always falls between January 21st and February 20th. This year’s holiday is earlier than recent years.

Fictiv Overseas Production Plan

In order to reliably deliver orders on time, we will have an overseas production holiday (meaning we will not manufacture or ship goods from overseas) from January 18 – January 29, 2023. 

Though the official holidays in China are January 21st-27th, many factories are planning to close much earlier this year due to their 2022 economic performance and the relative proximity to the winter holidays in the US. Rest assured, Fictiv has secured dedicated capacity within our network of longstanding manufacturing partners up until the 18th so we can provide committed lead times that we can stand behind and deliver — that way our customers won’t have any surprises.

So, for customers who prefer overseas production, the time to order is now! 

Chinese New Year Order-By Dates (Overseas Production)

CNC machining – December 22nd, 2022

Urethane Casting – January 4th, 2023

Injection Molding – Subject to project specifications. Please call to discuss

Fictiv Domestic Production Plan

Of course, our domestic manufacturing will operate normally during the overseas production holiday window. And we’ve significantly expanded our capacity within our network of US partners this year to make sure that we can still fulfill orders with reliable lead times no matter when you place them.

So if you need your parts produced during the holiday, choosing domestic production is the way to go.

Upload your project today and celebrate (instead of bemoan) Chinese New Year with us!