A parcel from China that has not updated in a few days is usually fine. Half of the parcels that arrived went quiet for three days or more at some point on the way.

What matters is which status it is quiet on. After most scans, 9 in 10 parcels get their next update within about 2 days, so a week of silence on a tracked line is not normal. A parcel stuck on "label created" or "delivery attempted" needs a different answer than one sitting in customs.

This guide covers:

• What each tracking status actually means, in the order a parcel moves through them
• How long tracking normally goes quiet after each one, measured scan by scan
• The point at which a silence stops being normal, status by status
• What to do at each point, and what to tell the customer
• Why the "10 to 25 days with no update is normal" advice does not apply to tracked lines

Why tracking goes quiet at all

A tracking page is a list of scans, and a scan only happens when someone or something reads the barcode: a sorting machine, a warehouse handheld, a customs system, a delivery driver. Between two scans the parcel is on a truck, in a container on a plane, or on a shelf waiting for the next step. Nothing is reported, so nothing shows.

Some gaps are built in. A parcel that has left China on a flight will not be scanned again until it lands. A parcel handed to the local delivery company often gets a new tracking number, and the first carrier's page can stop updating even while the parcel keeps moving.

So "no update" on its own tells you very little. The status it is stuck on tells you a lot.

What each status means, and how long is normal

Measured on every parcel with a label created between early May and mid August 2026, across all lines and destinations. Times are from one scan to the next, on parcels that arrived.

• Label created. The shipping label exists and the carrier has the parcel's details, but the carrier does not have the parcel yet. It is still with the supplier or warehouse. Median quiet time 1.7 days, 9 in 10 move on within 5.5 days. This is the longest normal silence on the whole journey, and it happens before the carrier is involved.
• In China, at the sorting centre. Arrived at or left the carrier's facility in China. Median 0.3 days, 9 in 10 within 1.7 days.
• Departed China. On the main line, usually a flight. Median 0.2 days, 9 in 10 within 1.1 days, 99 in 100 within 2.7 days.
• Arrived in the destination country. Landed and waiting for customs. Median 0.3 days, 9 in 10 within 1.7 days.
• In customs. Being cleared. Median under 2 hours, 9 in 10 within 0.7 days. The time from landing to release is covered in the guide to how long shipping from China takes.
• Customs released. Cleared and waiting for the local carrier to collect. Median 0.4 days, 9 in 10 within 1.6 days.
• With the local carrier. USPS, Royal Mail, DHL or another local delivery company has it. Median 0.2 days, 9 in 10 within 1.1 days.
• Delivery attempted. The driver tried and could not deliver. Median 0.2 days, 9 in 10 within 0.6 days.

Once a parcel has its first scan in China, every status after it has 9 in 10 next scans within about 2 days, and 99 in 100 within about 2 to 5 days.

When a silence stops being normal

The better question than "how long is normal" is "how many parcels that went this quiet still arrived". For each status, the longest silence each parcel had there was checked against whether it later got a delivered scan.

• Label created: 81% got a delivered scan after 3 quiet days, 74% after 7, 46% after 14. The drop comes late because the delay is usually on the sending side (stock, processing, handover), and it resolves once the parcel is handed over. More on that stage in the measurement of order processing time.
• In China: 65% after 5 quiet days, 47% after 7, 28% after 10.
• Departed China: 55% after 3 quiet days, 35% after 5, 20% after 7.
• Arrived in the destination country: 48% after 5 quiet days, 24% after 7.
• In customs: 79% after 3 quiet days, 75% after 5, 61% after 7, 40% after 10. Once the carrier has the parcel, customs silences resolve more often than at any other stage.
• With the local carrier: 68% after 3 quiet days, 41% after 5, 29% after 7.
• Delivery attempted: 18% after 3 quiet days, 6% after 5.

Two of these rows read worse than reality. "Departed China" and "with the local carrier" include parcels whose first carrier stopped reporting at the handover, so the parcel may be moving on the local carrier's own tracking number while this page shows nothing. These are the share that got a delivered scan, not the share that arrived, and the real figure is higher. A missing delivered scan also matters when a customer says the parcel never came: what evidence wins that dispute is covered in the guide to proof of delivery for parcels from China.

The "10 to 25 days is normal" advice

Most guides on page one say a parcel can show "departed country of origin" and then nothing for 10 to 25 days, and that you should wait 30 days or even two months before worrying. That describes economy postal services, where the parcel is not scanned between the export office and the destination post.

It does not describe a tracked line. On the measured lines, 99 in 100 parcels that left China got their next scan within 2.7 days, and only 1 in 5 of those that went 7 days quiet ever got a delivered scan. Waiting a month on a tracked parcel only means your customer waits a month before anyone chases it.

What to do at each status

1. Label created for 7+ days. The carrier does not have the parcel. Ask your supplier or warehouse whether it was handed over, and check stock on that product. Tell the customer the order is being prepared, not shipped.
2. Quiet in China for 5+ days. Ask your supplier or agent to query the carrier with the tracking number. Parcels can sit in a facility waiting for a consolidated departure or a document check.
3. Quiet after "departed China" for 5+ days. Check the destination country's carrier with the last-mile number if the page shows one. If there is none, ask for a trace.
4. In customs for 7+ days. Most still clear. Ask the carrier whether anything is needed from the sender, and tell the customer it is in customs in their country, which it is.
5. With the local carrier, quiet for 5+ days. Look up the local tracking number on the local carrier's own site before assuming anything. That page is often ahead of the first carrier's.
6. Delivery attempted. Act the same day. Email the customer with the attempt date, the local carrier's name and the pickup or redelivery options. After 3 quiet days, fewer than 1 in 5 of these parcels got a delivered scan.

For the customer, the status name is the reassurance. "It is in customs in your country and customs usually clears in hours" lands far better than "it is in transit".

How we handle this at Commercive

Commercive is your all in one sourcing and fulfilment partner. We ship from China on frontier lines like YunExpress, Yanwen and 4PX, which scan the parcel at every handover.

Every parcel we ship shows its scan-by-scan status in our dashboard, in plain names like the ones above, so you can see which status an order is stuck on without opening a carrier site. Our measured delivery times by line and country are public on our shipping status page.

If you're currently running a brand, just give us the product and your daily order volume. We'll get you a quote within the next 24 hours to hold up against what you're paying today.

How we measured this. Every parcel we shipped with a label created between 3 May and 16 August 2026, so each one had at least 45 days to arrive, across all our lines and destinations. Quiet time is measured from one scan to the next on the same parcel. "Got a delivered scan" is a floor on how many arrived, because some last-mile carriers never pass the delivered scan back. Thresholds are our reading of this data, not a carrier rule.

How long can a parcel from China go without a tracking update?

On a tracked line, after the first scan in China, 9 in 10 parcels get their next update within about 2 days and 99 in 100 within about 2 to 5 days. The exception is "label created", where 9 in 10 move on within about 5.5 days, because the carrier does not have the parcel yet.

What does "label created" mean if it has not changed for days?

The label exists, but the carrier has not received the parcel. It is still with the supplier or warehouse. If it has not moved for 7 days, ask the sender whether the parcel was actually handed over.

My parcel departed China a week ago with no update. Is it lost?

Not necessarily, but it is no longer normal on a tracked line. Check whether the page shows a local tracking number and look it up on the local carrier's site, since the first carrier's page often stops at the handover. If there is no local number, ask for a trace.

How long does customs hold a parcel from China?

Usually hours. In our data, 9 in 10 parcels moved on from a customs scan within 0.7 days. Of those that sat quiet in customs for a week, 61% still got a delivered scan, the highest of any stage once the carrier has the parcel.

What should I tell a customer whose parcel is stuck?

Tell them the status in plain words and what happens next: which country it is in, who has it, and when you will check again. Contact them the same day if the status is "delivery attempted", because that one rarely fixes itself.