While this document is not exclusively designed for importing products from Asia, it is the market most affected by seasonal swings.

Every year, ocean and air freight services are impacted by big spikes in supply and demand. At certain points during the year there are more bookings than there is space available and at other times there are not enough bookings for the space available.

The Peak-Season – This usually runs from around August to December, when retail volumes are at their highest. Retailers are usually stocking for Black-Friday, Christmas and January-Sales during this time. This is the period when it is more difficult to find space on vessels or flights and rates will generally be higher.

The Off-Season – This is intrinsically linked to Chinese New Year (CNY), which generally falls between January and February. China marks CNY with a 2-week shutdown period – production effectively comes to a standstill and it takes a few weeks for volumes to build up again. So, approximately between January and March vessels and flights are far from full and rates are usually at their lowest.

Some importers decide to play the field during the off-season and ‘jump-ship’ to use the logistics provider offering the cheapest possible price during this time.

This document outlines the reasons why this is a short-sighted approach to buying ocean and air freight and why building loyalty during this time is the most sensible way of protecting your supply chain costs over the course of a year.