Every year, the Christmas rush hits the same lanes: Manila, Cebu, Singapore, Dubai, Hong Kong. Imports spike. E-comm runs hot. Airlines push GSA allocations. Shipping lines slide schedules. Ports stack up boxes. Yet teams still act surprised when storage, demurrage, and rebooking costs land on the customer’s table.
The root is simple. Christmas demand is fixed. Supply is not. Carriers cut sailings, consolidate flights, and push yield. Forwarders scramble to protect margins while customers expect magic.
The Christmas peak exposes weak spots in daily ops. Delayed BL corrections cost storage in Manila. Late AWB finalization triggers short shipments ex-SIN. Congestion at PH ports means even small document errors delay release. Any slip hits your bottom line first, then the customer’s trust.
If your internal flow breaks during peak, the rest of the year only looks stable because volumes are lower, not because the process is solid.
What you should watch
- Sea schedules into Manila/Cebu.
Expect rolled boxes, slower vessel turn, and extra yard dwell. Even a one-day slip can push you into storage over a weekend. - Air freight capacity out of Dubai, Singapore, Hong Kong.
High inbound e-comm plus pharma flights chew up belly space. Late bookings are pushed to next day or even next week. - DO release delays in PH terminals.
Lines are strict during peak. Small data errors in BL or manifest create long queues at counters. - CTO congestion at NAIA and Clark.
Longer build-up and breakdown times. Any missing document forces a second visit.
What to avoid
- Loose job-level data.
Christmas peak is not the time to fix mistakes downstream. Wrong HS code, incorrect shipper name, or unmatched charge in invoice triggers charge disputes and short payments. - Promising fixed ETAs.
Carriers don’t control December ETAs. Forwarders definitely don’t. Set ranges, not dates. - Single-route dependence.
If you depend only on one airline out of SIN or DXB, be ready for spills and ad-hoc rates. - Last-minute customer updates.
Silence kills trust. Customers accept bad news but not late news.
If your systems and teams treat Christmas like a normal month, you lose money.
If you forecast, clean up data, and tighten billing logic, you win customer trust and protect margins.
Christmas doesn’t break logistics — weak daily habits do.
