Plastic sheet lead times explained - from PO to your loading dock
A realistic timeline for factory-direct sheet orders, plus where the typical delays hide and how to compress them.
Factory-direct buying trades a small amount of lead time for a large amount of savings. Knowing the realistic timeline lets you plan jobs without paying for air freight.
Typical sea freight timeline
Day 0 - PO and 30% deposit. Days 1–14 - factory production. Day 15 - QC and packing. Day 18 - port loading. Days 20–40 - ocean transit. Days 41–45 - Australian or NZ customs and final-mile delivery. Total: roughly 6–7 weeks door-to-door.
Where the delays hide
Chinese New Year (late January to mid-February) closes most mills for two to three weeks. Golden Week (first week of October) takes another week. Plan around these.
Customs holds usually trace back to incomplete commercial invoices. Make sure your supplier lists HS codes and a clear product description.
Air freight when you need it fast
Air freight cuts the transit to 7–10 days end-to-end at roughly 5× the freight cost. Worth it for prototypes, sample runs and emergency replacements - rarely worth it for stocking.