Skip to content
✉ info@chinaoceanfreight.com |📞 +86 18138342527
💬 WeChat: lunjie1120 WhatsApp Us →
            Get a Quote
💬 WhatsApp Us Now
Americas

Shipping from China to Colon

China → Colon · via PTY air / Manzanillo sea · clearance by Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá

Freight forwarding from China to Colon, Panama — container and air cargo handling
Cargo handling on the China–Colon lane.

Freight from China into Colon clears through PTY air / Manzanillo sea. Colon is the Colon Free Zone and Atlantic container hub, and the inland leg is same-day, so the clearance date is effectively the delivery date.

The clearing authority is Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá. Historical dwell on this gateway is around 2–5 days, and it lengthens in Sep–Nov.

Routing and transit on this lane

The Colón Free Zone is the largest free port in the Americas and the natural staging point for Chinese goods distributed across Central America, the Caribbean and northern South America. Cargo can sit in the zone duty-free and be re-exported in smaller lots, which is a far more efficient structure than shipping direct to a dozen small markets.

Air gateways usedPTY (Panama City Tocumen)
Air transit, China to gateway4–6 business days
Sea gateways usedBalboa (Pacific), Colón / Manzanillo (Atlantic)
Sea transit, China to gateway22–30 calendar days
Gateway serving ColonPTY air / Manzanillo sea
Inland leg to ColonSame day from the gateway
Typical clearance / dwell2–5 days
Peak season to plan aroundSep–Nov

Import duty and tax position for Colon

Imports into Panama are cleared by Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá. The headline position is: ITBMS 7%; duty 0–15%, with 0% inside the Colón Free Zone. The de-minimis threshold is USD 100 for courier consignments.

Conformity is the part most first-time importers underestimate: Conformity requirements for regulated goods; health registration for food and cosmetics. Getting this wrong is expensive because it usually cannot be fixed after the cargo has landed.

Restrictions and known friction points for Panama: Free Zone re-export and Panamanian domestic import are different regimes — clarify which applies. Canal transit conditions can affect Atlantic-side schedules during low-water periods.

Air cargo build-up used on the China to Colon (Panama) freight lane
Handling on the PTY air / Manzanillo sea routing serving Colon.

Air, sea or overland into Colon?

ModeTransit to gatewayBest suited to
✈️ Air Freight4–6 business daystime-critical, high-value and low-volume cargo
🚢 Sea Freight22–30 calendar daysvolume cargo where cost per kilo matters more than speed

Transit shown is China departure to the Panama gateway and excludes the same-day inland leg to Colon and 2–5 days of clearance.

Pre-shipment checklist for Colon

  • Check the de-minimis position (USD 100 for courier consignments) against your invoice value before you decide how to split the shipment.
  • Ask for the HS code in writing from your supplier and verify the Panama duty rate against it yourself.
  • Confirm the consignee in Colon can act as importer of record — Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá will not release cargo to an unregistered party.
  • Get the conformity paperwork moving early: Conformity requirements for regulated goods; health registration for food and cosmetics.
  • Use ISPM-15 treated pallets. Untreated wood is the most common reason otherwise-clean cargo gets held.
  • Book earlier than the transit time suggests during Sep–Nov, when space on this lane tightens.

Mode guides for Colon

Frequently asked questions

How long does shipping from China to Colon take?

China to the Panama gateway is 4–6 business days by air, 22–30 calendar days by sea. On top of that, allow 2–5 days of clearance with Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá and a same-day inland leg to Colon.

What duty and tax will I pay importing into Colon?

Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá applies: ITBMS 7%; duty 0–15%, with 0% inside the Colón Free Zone. The de-minimis position is USD 100 for courier consignments. Under a DDP arrangement these are pre-paid, so nothing is collected on arrival in Colon.

Can you deliver door-to-door in Colon?

Yes. Delivery to a Colon address is quoted as one figure covering freight, duty and tax owed to Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá, and the same-day inland leg. Confirm whether your consignee wants the goods at a warehouse, a marketplace fulfillment center or a shop front, because the last-mile requirement differs.

When is the busiest time on the China–Panama lane?

Space and rates tighten around Sep–Nov, plus the China-side windows of Chinese New Year in January or February and Golden Week in early October. Book one to two weeks earlier in those periods.

Which port or airport does cargo for Colon clear through?

Cargo for Colon is routed via PTY air / Manzanillo sea. Sea gateways for Panama are Balboa (Pacific), Colón / Manzanillo (Atlantic); air gateways are PTY (Panama City Tocumen). We pick whichever gives the shortest total door time for your address.

How is the chargeable weight calculated for Colon?

We compare actual gross weight against volumetric weight — length × width × height in centimeters divided by 6000 for air — and bill the greater of the two, rounded up to the next kilogram. Light, bulky cargo is almost always billed on volume.

Other delivery cities in Panama

All Panama freight information →

References & official sources

Duty rates, thresholds and conformity requirements for Panama change by ministerial decision, sometimes mid-year. The figures on this page are buyer-planning references, not a customs ruling — confirm the current position for your own HS code with Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá or your broker before you ship.

Page data last reviewed: 10 月 2026.

Shipping by industry

This page covers the route and clearance picture for the destination. Packing, classification and the compliance step that actually holds a shipment depend on what you are sending — these guides cover that by commodity.

All 60 industry guides →

Checking the Panama duty position yourself

Duty and tax figures on this page are planning estimates. The binding assessment is made by Autoridad Nacional de Aduanas de Panamá against your declared HS code at the time of entry; where the amount is material, verify the current rate through ITC Market Access Map before committing to an order.

Classification drives everything downstream: the same carton can attract very different duty depending on the heading it lands in, and the structure those headings come from is the World Customs Organization Harmonized System. If your product sits near a boundary between two headings, resolve it before shipping rather than at the border.

For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.

If this is your first shipment into Panama, the Panama Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.

Watch: the process behind this route

This guide covers routing and clearance for Colon. The video below covers the wider shipping process that sits around it.

Sea Freight Shipping Process for Beginners: Complete Factory-to-Door Guide (Every Step Explained) — Vixnk - English. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.

Get a rate for Colon

This lane is quoted per shipment rather than from a rate card: the landed cost depends on the commodity, its density, the conformity requirements above and the delivery point. Send the cargo details and we price it properly.

Answer these and you get a real price, not a range. These are the exact figures a carrier needs before it will quote. Fill them in once and we can price your cargo the same day — leave them out and we have to come back and ask, which is what turns an hour into a week.

kg
ctn
Carton sizeoptional
× × cm
m³
ctr
Built-in battery?* Lithium cells are dangerous goods.
Someone else's brand?* Logos you are not authorised to ship.
Magnetic product?* Speakers, motors, magnets.
Why these three decide everything

They determine whether your cargo can fly, and on which service. A declared battery changes the price; an undeclared one grounds the shipment at the airport and you pay storage while it sits. Unauthorised brands are seized at customs and the freight is lost with them. Magnetic goods need a field test — routine, but it has to be booked ahead. Telling us now costs a click; telling us later costs the shipment.

Sea or air?*
Tick both and we quote both.
When should it move?optional
Photographs of the goodsoptional
    Your details are used to prepare this quotation and nothing else.

    See the Panama route page →

    Customs clearance in Panama

    Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.

    Panama clearance requirements →

    Priced routes to Panama