Short answer: Plan on 25–45 days of production after deposit for made-to-order office furniture, plus 18–35 days of ocean transit and 3–7 days of clearance and delivery. Door to door, a project lands in 8–14 weeks. Samples take 3–10 days, and Chinese New Year 2027 falls on February 6.
Most schedule failures are not factory failures. They are approval failures and calendar failures: a finish approved in week three instead of week one, or a container that needed to load two weeks before a factory closure.
What is a realistic lead time from purchase order to delivery?
| Stage | Typical duration | What causes slippage |
|---|---|---|
| Specification freeze and quotation | 1–2 weeks | Undecided finishes, missing floor plans |
| Sample production and approval | 3–10 days production, 3–7 days transit | Slow feedback, changes after sign-off |
| Fabric and foam procurement | 1–3 weeks stock, 3–6 weeks custom | Custom dye lots, mill backlog |
| Metal fabrication and powder coating | 1–2 weeks | Coating line queue, color changeovers |
| Hardware, gas lift, castor supply | 1–4 weeks | Imported mechanisms, component shortage |
| Assembly and upholstery | 2–4 weeks | Labor availability, pre-holiday rush |
| Inspection and packing | 3–7 days | Rework triggered by inspection |
| Container booking and loading | 3–7 days | Equipment shortage, missed cutoff |
| Ocean transit | 18–35 days | Congestion, blank sailings, rerouting |
| Import clearance and delivery | 3–7 days | Customs exam, missing documents |
The production portion we publish is 25–45 days after deposit for made-to-order items, with samples in 3–10 days. What drives the spread: how much of the order is custom, and whether the model has been produced before. A repeat stock chair in a stock color sits at the fast end; a first order with a new frame dimension, a custom Pantone finish and branded castors sits at the slow end.
Lead time also depends on where the order runs. Our sourcing guide covering MOQ, lead times and FOB prices explains how volume and order type change the production window.
Production is spread across three bases — Dongguan, Zhongshan and Luoyang — so ask which base your order runs at; that determines which factory calendar applies.
Which stage is most likely to slip?
Fabric and foam, in that order. Fabric is the only input that starts a mill’s clock rather than a factory’s clock, and custom colors carry minimum dye lots. If your specification needs a color match to an existing installation, order the fabric before the furniture and have the mill ship it to the factory.
Second is powder coating, when the order is small and the color is non-standard — and once it ships, our guide to FCL vs LCL and FOB vs DDP covers the transit portion of the schedule. Coating lines batch by color, and a 40-piece run in a bespoke RAL or Pantone waits for the next changeover. Ask when that changeover is scheduled.
Third is hardware: a mechanism or gas lift specified by brand or model is an imported part with its own lead time, and last-minute substitutions are where “same chair, different price” starts.
How does Chinese New Year 2027 affect my schedule?
Chinese New Year falls on Saturday, February 6, 2027. The dates that matter are the four windows around it:
- Two to four weeks before: factories push to finish and stop taking new production; fabric and component suppliers close earlier than assembly plants.
- The holiday itself: most Guangdong and Henan factories close for two to four weeks. China’s 2027 public holiday schedule may still be unpublished — get your factory’s written closure dates.
- One to three weeks after: restart is gradual, and output in the first week back is far below normal.
- Four to eight weeks after: the pre-holiday backlog clears and spot bookings tighten.
The practical consequence: cargo that must reach the US by early April should load before mid-January. Anything loading in the last ten days before the holiday risks sitting at the port and missing a vessel the carrier may blank anyway.
How much buffer should I add?
| Situation | Minimum buffer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Standard order, no holiday window | 1–2 weeks | Port and QC slippage is normal |
| Cargo ready Nov–Jan | 2–3 weeks | Pre-holiday rush for vessel space |
| Cargo ready within 4 weeks of Chinese New Year | 4 weeks | Fabric mills and component suppliers close first |
| Sailing Aug–Oct to the US | 2–3 weeks | Peak-season freight demand and terminal congestion |
| Custom finish, new tooling or first article | 4–6 weeks | Coating trials and first-article approval |
| First order with a new supplier | 3–4 weeks | Specification misunderstandings surface late |
Put the buffer on the production side, not the shipping side: a two-week production buffer costs nothing, while air-freighting 300 chairs costs more than the chairs. Then hold one week of schedule in your own approvals — the most commonly lost week is the one spent collecting a signature on a finish sample.
For US-bound orders, August to October is the tightest window for container space. When the install date is fixed by a lease start or move date, work backward: one week for delivery, five for ocean transit, seven for production and inspection, two for buffer. If the deposit date that produces has already passed, the plan is not aggressive — it is late.
How can I shorten the lead time?
- Freeze the specification before you request the quote. Approve fabric, finish, mechanism and dimensions in one pass, not three.
- Approve the sample within 48 hours of receipt. Every day of sample review is a day of production.
- Order long-lead fabric directly and early. The factory can hold the order, but it cannot dye faster than the mill.
- Split the shipment. Ship what is ready first and air- or rail-freight the critical 10% for the first weeks of occupancy through our desks and workspaces range.
For large projects, ask for a written production schedule with milestone dates at order confirmation, not an estimated ship date. Milestones that can be checked are the only ones that can be managed.
FAQ
How long does office furniture take to ship from China to the US?
Ocean transit is typically 18–35 days depending on coast and routing, plus 3–7 days for clearance and delivery, with production time in front. West Coast ports are usually at the faster end.
Can I get 300 task chairs in four weeks?
Only if the model, color and fabric are stock items and the factory has capacity in that window. Made-to-order items run 25–45 days after deposit before any transit time. Ask before you commit to a lease date.
Does Chinese New Year shut down every factory?
No, but most. Closures in Guangdong and Henan typically run two to four weeks, and component suppliers often close earlier than assemblers. Get written closure dates from your supplier and ask which of its bases your order is scheduled at.
When should I place an order for a January install?
Before the end of August. Six to seven weeks of production plus four to five weeks of ocean plus a week of clearance puts a January delivery inside a September deposit.
Does a sample add time to the order?
A standard sample adds 3–10 days of production plus transit. A custom-fabric sample can add 2–4 weeks if the mill has to run a dye lot. Ask whether the sample can be cut from the same lot as bulk production.
Related reading
- How to Read an Office Furniture Quotation: FOB, DDP and Hidden Costs
- Office Furniture Sourcing from China: MOQ, Lead Times and FOB Prices
- Shipping Office Furniture from China: FCL vs LCL, FOB vs DDP
Next step
Tell us your install date, quantities and destination and we will return a schedule with milestone dates instead of a single ship date. Use the quote form, or check specifications on our seating and desks and workspaces pages.
Sources
- Hong Kong Government, 2027 general holidays calendar confirming Chinese New Year on February 6, 2027: https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202605/15/P2026051400300.htm (accessed November 4, 2026)
- Maersk, Chinese New Year supply-chain planning (pre-holiday slowdown, trucking and container pressure): https://www.maersk.com/logistics-explained/freight-seasons/2025/11/04/chinese-new-year-2026 (accessed November 4, 2026)
- Drip Capital, Chinese New Year 2027 factory shutdown planning: https://www.dripcapital.com/en-us/resources/blog/chinese-new-year-2027 (accessed November 4, 2026)
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Importing into the United States: https://www.cbp.gov/trade/basic-import-export/importing (accessed November 4, 2026)
Last updated: November 2026
Wenyi Editorial Team
The in-house content and engineering team at Wenyi Office Furniture (Dongguan Guanzhi Furniture Co., Ltd.). We write about office ergonomics, furniture standards, sourcing and workplace design based on 20 years of manufacturing experience in Dongguan, China.