CNY officially ended February 23. It is now early March, and your steel still has not shipped. You are not alone, and the cause is almost certainly one of three things.

Factories are not back to full speed yet

The official holiday was nine days. The real disruption is six to eight weeks. Most factories reopened around February 24 but are currently running at 30 to 50% capacity as workers gradually return (KG Logistics, 2026). Steel mills across Tianjin, Ningbo, and Shanghai are still clearing production backlogs from orders placed in January. If your material was not confirmed before mid-January, it is sitting in a production queue right now competing with every other post-holiday rush order. Full normalization is not expected until mid-to-late March (TEU Inc., 2026).

Port congestion is making it worse

When factories restart, cargo floods the ports simultaneously. Blank sailings during the holiday reduced vessel frequency. Now that cargo is moving again, everyone is competing for the same space on the same vessels at the same time. Yantian, Ningbo, and Shanghai are all experiencing elevated congestion and longer dwell times right now (SEKO Logistics, 2026). Your shipment may already be cargo-ready at the factory but physically waiting for truck capacity to reach the port, or for vessel space on your route.

What to do today

Do not wait for your supplier to update you. Call them today and ask for a confirmed cargo-ready date, not a projected one. Then call your freight forwarder and check actual vessel availability on your specific route for the next two to three weeks. If your project deadline is firm, ask about LCL consolidation or express services that can move faster than waiting for the next available FCL sailing. Mid-March is when things genuinely start normalizing. Until then, stay on top of it daily.

References

KG Logistics. (2026, February). When do Chinese factories reopen after Chinese New Year? https://www.kg-logistics.co.uk/news/when-do-chinese-factories-reopen-after-chinese-new-year/

SEKO Logistics. (2026). Navigating Lunar New Year 2026: A guide for exporters and importers sourcing from Asia. https://www.sekologistics.com/en/resource-hub/knowledge-hub/lunar-new-year-2026-complete-supply-chain-planning-guide-for-asia-sourcing/

TEU Inc. (2026, February). Chinese New Year 2026: How it impacts shipping and what to do now. https://teuinc.com/blog/chinese-new-year-2026-shipping