Lead time is a spec line, the same as GSM or backing. A program that has to be in stores for a season, on a stand at a trade show, or in seat-back pockets before a route launches lives or dies on the calendar — and the calendar is almost always longer than first-time buyers expect. Below is the honest timeline for a custom blanket or picnic-mat order from a Chinese mill, stage by stage, plus the two things that quietly add weeks.
The four stages — and realistic durations
An OEM order moves through four phases. The numbers below assume a normal-season order of a few thousand pieces with standard decoration; treat them as planning anchors, not promises — every spec shifts them.
- 1. Sampling — 7 to 15 days. From an approved tech-pack or reference, the mill makes a pre-production sample: correct fabric, colour, backing and decoration. Custom Pantone dyeing, jacquard weaving or a new mould add days here because they touch the loom or dye house, not just the sewing line.
- 2. Pre-production sign-off — 5 to 10 days. You approve the PP sample, lab dips and any care/label artwork; the mill locks materials and books production capacity. This stage is buyer-paced — slow approvals are the single most common self-inflicted delay.
- 3. Bulk production — 25 to 40 days. The real manufacturing window. It stretches with quantity, with embroidery (the slowest decoration), and with anything woven-in (jacquard needs loom set-up); it compresses with sublimation and stock colours. See decoration methods compared for how each affects the line.
- 4. Inspection & export prep — 3 to 7 days. In-line and final QC (AQL inspection), folding, polybagging, cartonisation and booking the freight. Third-party inspection, if you want it, slots in here.
Add it up and a typical job is roughly 6 to 10 weeks ex-factory before a single carton has left China. Shipping is on top of that.
Shipping — sea, air, and the Incoterms that matter
Once goods are ready, transit depends on mode and destination:
- Sea freight (FCL/LCL): the default for blankets, which are bulky but not urgent. Ningbo/Shanghai to US West Coast is roughly 18–30 days port-to-port; to the US East Coast or Northern Europe, 30–40 days. Add a week or two each end for trucking, customs and deconsolidation.
- Air freight: 5–10 days door-to-door, but several times the cost — sane only for samples, top-ups or a launch you can't miss.
The other half of shipping is the Incoterm, which decides where our responsibility ends and yours begins:
- EXW (Ex Works) — you arrange everything from our door. Cheapest unit price, most work for you.
- FOB (e.g. FOB Ningbo) — we deliver, clear export and load onto your nominated vessel; you own the ocean leg and import. The most common term we quote.
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) — we deliver to your door with duties paid. Simplest for you, highest price, and only worth it if you'd rather not manage freight at all.
If you're new to importing, FOB plus a freight forwarder in your own country is usually the right balance of cost and control.
What quietly adds weeks
- Custom yarn-dyed colour. Matching a brand Pantone in the dye house, rather than using a stock shade, can add 7–10 days and a lab-dip approval loop.
- Jacquard and woven labels. Anything woven into the cloth needs loom programming and set-up before a metre is made.
- Certification & testing. If your channel needs test reports (flammability, OEKO-TEX on a new fabric), lab turnaround is days to weeks — see certifications explained.
- Backing lamination. Coated picnic and camping products add a lamination and curing step that fleece throws don't — see PEVA vs PU vs TPU.
Chinese New Year — the biggest schedule risk
The single factor that wrecks more delivery dates than any other is Chinese New Year. Most mills close for two to three weeks (late January or February, the date moves each year), and the weeks on either side run at reduced capacity as workers travel and order books overflow. A job that would take eight weeks in May can take twelve if it straddles CNY. If your in-store date is in spring, brief in autumn — not in January. We flag the cut-off on every quote near the holiday.
How to compress the timeline
- Use stock fabric and stock colours where the brand allows — it removes the dye-house loop entirely.
- Choose decoration for speed when the date is tight: sublimation and screen print are faster than dense embroidery or jacquard.
- Approve fast. Pre-arrange who signs off the PP sample and lab dips so approval is hours, not weeks.
- Book capacity early. A confirmed PO holds a slot on the line; a "maybe" doesn't. For a fixed event date, reserve the window before final artwork if you must.
- Split the shipment. Air a small launch quantity, sea the bulk — you hit the date without paying air freight on the whole order.
Plan backward from the shelf date
The reliable way to schedule is to start from the date the product must be available and subtract: a week or two of domestic distribution, three to six weeks of sea transit, one to two weeks of inspection and export prep, six to ten weeks of sampling and production — and a buffer for CNY if you're anywhere near it. For a normal program that lands at roughly three to four months from "go" to "on the shelf." Tight, but very doable when the calendar is respected from day one.
Working backward from a fixed date? Send us the deadline and destination — we'll quote a realistic ex-factory date, the Incoterm, and a shipping plan that hits it.