PCBA Order Lead Time Report: Guidance for Lunar New Year 2025

Key Takeaways:

• Lunar New Year (LNY) disrupts electronics manufacturing: Factory shutdowns in the APAC region (major supplier hub) cause delays throughout the supply chain. Even North American manufacturing can be impacted.

• Plan early and consider alternatives: Proactive planning is crucial. MacroFab's geographically diverse manufacturing network offers an alternative to potentially disrupted overseas suppliers.

• MacroFab can help mitigate LNY disruptions: MacroFab offers solutions to common build bottlenecks to ensure smooth production while our North American factory network provides open, ready capacity to meet your needs.

With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, the MacroFab team wants to ensure our customers have the best guidance when planning their orders to continue meeting their delivery deadlines.

The Lunar New Year (LNY) is a major East Asian holiday, triggering the world's largest annual human migration. This year it comes early, on January 29th. It is important to proactively plan for this large-scale event, even if you manufacture completely in North America. The APAC region is a major hub for electronics supply chains, so potential impacts can be felt early as factories slow their production and can last for several weeks afterward.

• Second Full Week of January: Suppliers may begin slowing down production as some employees depart early for LNY celebrations.

• Third Full Week of January: The exodus accelerates, with many factories halting production entirely.

• January 28th, 2025: Most factories are completely shut down.

• January 29th, 2025: Lunar New Year.

• Second Full Week in February: Employees gradually return to factories.

• February 17th, 2025: Most employees are back, but normal operations may not resume until around March 1st.

LNY goes beyond factory closures. This large-scale migration (with over 1.5 billion trips within China alone) disrupts the entire electronics supply chain. Factory workers traveling home for the holidays create a labor shortage, impacting production lines. At the same time, transportation networks–which may also be affected by labor shortages–become overwhelmed as people and last-minute shipments move across the region, leading to further delays. With East Asia accounting for over half of global electronics exports, sourcing components and materials can become challenging.

Further, companies that typically use APAC manufacturing look for alternatives during this period, leading to a shortage of capacity and longer wait times domestically. MacroFab's access to over 100 factory lines allows us to find capacity where others can't. However, some budget pricing tiers may not be available during this time. You should order as early as possible to maximize your economic benefits.

Also, MacroFab has a solution to mitigate common BoM bottlenecks. We now have a vendor located outside the APAC region for PCBs, the most likely part of your PCBA to cause delays during this time, allowing your build to continue as planned. Early planning is still recommended for the widest variety of options and best pricing, as proactive measures can help you avoid major obstacles entirely.

The impact of LNY in the APAC region extends beyond the holiday itself. Lingering effects can occur due to:

• Accrued demand: Factories may struggle to catch up after the break, leading to delays in fulfilling orders.

• Staffing changes: Some employees may not return after LNY, impacting production efficiency while new hires are trained.

Here are some proactive steps you can take to mitigate the potential impact of LNY on your business:

• Plan Early: Forecast your Q4 2024 and Q1/Q2 2025 needs well in advance and communicate them to your manufacturing partner.

• Consider Inventory Buildup: Increase inventory levels of critical components or finished goods before mid-December to avoid stockouts during the LNY period.

• Explore Alternative Sourcing: If feasible, diversify your supply chain to mitigate reliance on Asian suppliers during LNY.

• Manufacture with MacroFab: MacroFab’s North American factory network and global supply chain connections minimize the impact of LNY and keep your orders moving forward.

Lunar New Year 2025 could see orders placed as early as late December affected by Lunar New Year. Placing orders in early December will help mitigate the US holiday and LNY outages. If you must wait until January, MacroFab will be ready with lead times at or close to our typical lead times. Minimize disruptions during the Lunar New Year period now through simple, proactive measures.

The Lunar New Year presents challenges, but MacroFab empowers you to navigate them. Our geographically diverse manufacturing network, spanning facilities in Mexico, the United States, and Canada offers a robust alternative to overseas suppliers susceptible to Lunar New Year shutdowns.

Ensure uninterrupted production and meet your delivery deadlines in 2025. Our experienced support team can help you seamlessly pivot production to North American facilities.