Business as usual around Chinese New Year

China is preparing for a special New Year celebration: February 17, 2026 marks the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse, which is said to bring dynamism and change every 60 years. The team at a. hartrodt is looking forward to the new zodiac sign: “We are fired up to continue growing our business,” says Peter Zink, Trade Lane Manager North East Asia at a. hartrodt Germany. He currently reports “high demand” in the sea freight sector. Laurent Jockel, Business Development Manager at a. hartrodt in Hong Kong, expects a peak this month as well as rising prices: “Carriers are trying to increase freight rates on the Asia-Europe route”.

Many factories in China are closing at the end of January

Laurent Jockel reminds customers to “prepare well” for Chinese New Year (CNY). According to him, many factories in China close “already at the end of January” – well before the holidays from February 17 to 22 and the official vacation period until the beginning of March: “When everything comes to a standstill, it becomes difficult to export goods”. Peter Zink also points to the continuing longer transit times around South Africa.

Golden Horse – the fire horse amongst the Golden Services

During CNY, a. hartrodt provides customer-oriented service even with a Chinese team, and given the well-established processes, Peter Zink speaks of “business as usual”. There are suitable solutions for different industries. The Golden Services product is ideal for urgent shipments: Via seven air freight hubs in Northeast Asia, a. hartrodt offers flexible consolidations with direct flights to Europe. “Our Golden Horse service from Beijing is the fire horse amongst the Golden Services,” says Laurent Jockel with a wink. He wants to further develop the successful product after it has been expanded to Japan and South Korea in 2025.

Peter Zink advises “thinking about the period after the holidays before the holidays”: Because cargo space from Germany to China, for example, could be in short supply in the run-up to CNY, “customers should – after consulting with the a. hartrodt air freight teams – allow their shipments to continue and use us for temporary storage at Shanghai Pudong Airport, for example.”

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