In foreign trade, the year does not progress uniformly. There is an invisible calendar made up of predictable global events —productive festivities, industrial cycles, and operational adjustments— that temporarily modify global logistics dynamics. For Latin America, these milestones have a particularly deep impact.
The region depends largely on long supply chains, with Asia and other major markets as the main poles of origin and destination. This structure means that any disruption in those productive centers becomes amplified when reaching countries such as Chile, affecting space availability, transit times, and logistics costs.
Within this calendar, Chinese New Year occupies a unique place. It is not just a festivity, but a planned interruption of the world’s main manufacturing axis. Weeks before the official date, production slows down, flows are brought forward, and logistics capacity becomes strained, turning February into an atypical operational month for Latin American importers and exporters.
The main risk is not the event itself, but the lack of anticipation. When decisions are concentrated too close to the cycle, the margin for maneuver decreases and indirect costs and operational frictions increase.
Understanding these events as part of a predictable global cycle allows companies to plan more realistically, protect operational continuity, and reduce improvisation. In a logistics environment increasingly exposed to disruptions, anticipation remains the main competitive advantage.
Managing foreign trade today requires moving from reacting to the calendar to operating with a global vision. Anticipating cycles, adjusting expectations, and planning in advance helps protect operational continuity, reduce contingencies, and strengthen the stability of foreign trade in the region.
