Shipping from Sri Lanka to USA
Airlift USA ships full containers from Colombo to the USA, with LCL, air freight and origin pickup on request: Airlift’s Chennai branch coordinates Sri Lanka bookings, and Airlift USA’s own offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles handle the US side. Colombo to New York takes about 28–35 days port to port on Airlift’s own shipments (P10–P90, sailings July 2025 to June 2026). Sri Lankan goods pay a 10% Section 301 duty on top of the normal rate, but tea and natural rubber are exempt.
Request a Sri Lanka–USA freight quote
Sri Lanka–USA Shipping at a Glance
Airlift USA ships full containers (FCL) from Colombo to the United States, with LCL and air freight on request. On Airlift’s own shipments that sailed between July 2025 and June 2026, Colombo to New York took 28–35 days port to port (P10–P90), typically around 31. Other East Coast, Gulf and West Coast ports are served on carrier schedules that range from about four weeks to more than nine, depending on the port and whether the sailing relays at a hub.
Airlift has no office of its own in Sri Lanka: Airlift’s Chennai branch coordinates Sri Lanka bookings, and pickup and export clearance in Colombo are available on request. Airlift USA’s offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles handle the US side: the ISF, the customs entry through licensed customs brokers, and delivery through contracted trucking companies. Airlift USA has been in business since 1999 and is an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162).
Apparel is Sri Lanka’s largest export industry and leads its exports to the US; rubber products, tea, coconut products and spices are other established exports. The cargo Airlift has carried on this lane over the past two years is mostly metal products, rubber goods, coir products and food products.
Sri Lanka to USA: Quick Facts
Main Ports by Shipment Volume
Origin port (Sri Lanka):
Colombo
Destination ports (USA):
New York and New Jersey (Newark), Norfolk, Houston, Los Angeles, Savannah, Tacoma, Miami
Ocean Transit Time (Airlift Shipments, P10–P90)
From Colombo
| Destination port | Transit planning range |
|---|---|
| New York | 28–35 days |
The range runs from the 10th to the 90th percentile (P10–P90) of Airlift’s own Colombo–New York shipments, port to port, for sailings that departed between July 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026. Only this pair had enough shipments to publish; carrier-schedule ranges for other US ports are listed in the next section. These are planning ranges, not guaranteed transit times. Confirm the current routing and sailing schedule when you request a quote.
These ranges are port to port only. The glossary explains what a quoted transit time includes and which origin and destination legs it leaves out.
Have cargo ready in Sri Lanka?
Send the cargo, the ready date and the US delivery point, and the team will price sea or air.Colombo: Sailings to Other US Ports, and Cargo Relayed for Other Countries
For US ports other than New York, Airlift’s own shipments are too few to publish a range, so the figures below come from published carrier schedules: the 10th to the 90th percentile of the port-to-port transit times listed for sailings from Colombo departing October 6 to November 2, 2026, in the schedule feed that Sealanes uses (MSC, ONE, HMM, Maersk and CMA CGM sailings), with duplicate listings of the same sailing removed. A port is listed when it had at least 10 sailings on 5 or more departure dates. Wide ranges mean the port is served both by direct sailings and by sailings that relay at a hub such as Valencia, Antwerp, Singapore or Ningbo.
Colombo is also one of South Asia’s largest transshipment hubs: most of the containers it handles are relayed between ships rather than loaded or unloaded in Sri Lanka. In the Sealanes snapshot of September 18, 2026, most of the US-bound sailings listed from Tuticorin relayed at Colombo, as did many sailings from Kolkata and Ennore. That cargo is not Sri Lankan: US customs assigns origin by where the goods were made, so Indian goods relayed through Colombo are entered as Indian goods. Duty, documents and this guide’s advice apply to goods made in Sri Lanka.
Carrier-schedule ranges from Colombo (October 2026 sailings, P10–P90):
- Charleston: 29–38 days
- Houston: 33–42 days, direct or via Salalah
- Savannah: 27–65 days, direct or via Valencia
- Norfolk: 30–64 days, direct or via Antwerp or Valencia
- Long Beach: 39–57 days, mostly via Singapore or Ningbo
- Oakland: 42–52 days
- New York, for comparison: 23–31 days on the schedules, against 28–35 days on Airlift’s own shipments
Air Freight from Sri Lanka to the USA
Air cargo suits samples, garment launches, spare parts, medical supplies and orders that missed a sailing. It leaves Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB), north of Colombo. There is no nonstop cargo service from Sri Lanka to the United States, so every shipment connects through a hub in the Middle East, Europe or Asia; the airline’s routing and the connection decide most of the transit time, so ask for the routing with the quote.
Air freight is priced on chargeable weight: the greater of the actual weight and the volumetric weight (length × width × height in centimeters ÷ 6,000). Dense cargo such as metal parts pays by the kilo; light, bulky cartons such as garments pay by volume.
Air shipment documents and compliance
- Air waybill, commercial invoice and packing list. The export CusDec is filed in Sri Lanka whether the goods fly or sail.
- No ISF: the Importer Security Filing applies only to ocean cargo.
- Agency filings still apply: FDA prior notice for tea, spices and other food, and FDA device requirements for medical gloves.
- Duties don’t change with the mode: the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty, or Section 232 for covered metal products, applies to air cargo as it does to the same goods in a container.
What Determines Your Sri Lanka–USA Freight Rate
Airlift doesn’t publish a price list for this lane, because rates change week to week. These factors explain why two quotes for the same container can differ, and which ones you control.
- US port and routing: New York is the most direct gateway from Colombo; Gulf and West Coast ports often involve a relay at a European or Asian hub, which changes both price and transit.
- Suez or Cape: sailings around the Cape of Good Hope take longer and burn more fuel than Suez Canal transits, and carriers pass that through in surcharges.
- Container size and type: the 40′ high cube is the usual choice; 20′ containers suit dense cargo such as metal products that reach the weight limit before the container is full.
- FCL or LCL: below roughly 13 m³, LCL is usually cheaper; above about 20 m³, a container of your own usually wins.
- Season and space: peak-season surcharges and general rate increases typically run from late summer into the pre-holiday peak, and Colombo’s yard congestion can add delays when transshipment volumes surge.
- Destination charges: ISF filing, customs entry and bond, chassis and drayage, and detention or demurrage after free time sit outside the ocean rate. Have them quoted up front.
- Duties aren’t freight: the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty, any Section 232 duty and any antidumping duty are charged on the customs value of the goods, not on the freight. Budget for them separately using your HTS code.
Questions about your cargo?
Tell us what you ship and how it is packed, and a specialist will contact you.Common Cargo on This Lane
What Airlift has shipped from Sri Lanka (past two years):
- Metal products
- Rubber goods
- Coir products, such as coco chips and coir pith
- Food products
Sri Lanka’s main exports to the USA:
Apparel is Sri Lanka’s largest export industry, and many Sri Lankan garment makers produce for US brands. Rubber products such as gloves and tires, tea, coconut products and spices are other established exports. Airlift quotes all of them as general cargo on the same FCL, LCL and air services.
Customs, Duties and Compliance for Imports from Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan export clearance is arranged on request; the US entry is filed through licensed customs brokers. The duties below apply to goods of Sri Lankan origin as of October 2026. They change by proclamation and Federal Register notice, so the rate that counts is the one for your HTS code on the day of entry: check it in the tariff simulator and follow the tariff updates page.
In Sri Lanka (export)
- Export customs declaration (CusDec): filed with Sri Lanka Customs through its ASYCUDA system, with the HS code, value and any license the goods need.
- Commercial invoice and packing list: the invoice value and description must match what is declared to US customs.
- Tea: exporters must be registered with the Sri Lanka Tea Board, which issues a quality certificate for each tea shipment.
- Phytosanitary certificate: for plant products such as coir, spices and unprocessed plant material where the US rules call for one. Wood packaging must carry the ISPM 15 mark.
- Certificate of origin: a non-preferential certificate is issued by a chamber of commerce when the buyer asks for one. The US has no trade agreement or active preference program with Sri Lanka, so it doesn’t reduce duty.
In the USA (import)
- ISF (Importer Security Filing): due at least 24 hours before the container is loaded at Colombo. Late or inaccurate filings can draw liquidated damages of up to $5,000 per filing.
- Customs entry and bond: a continuous bond covers a year of entries and ISF filings; a single-transaction bond covers one entry.
- FDA: tea, spices, coconut products and other food need a registered foreign facility, prior notice before arrival and a Foreign Supplier Verification Program record held by the importer. Medical gloves are FDA-regulated devices that need establishment registration, device listing and 510(k) clearance.
- UFLPA: cotton apparel and textiles need supply-chain records, because CBP can detain goods it suspects contain Xinjiang cotton wherever they were sewn.
- Country of origin: duty follows where the goods were made, not the port of loading. Under 19 CFR 102.21, most sewn garments are products of the country where they are wholly assembled.
Duties on Sri Lankan goods (as of October 2026)
- Column 1 duty: the normal HTS rate for the product. Black tea, natural rubber and coir fiber are duty-free; garments carry some of the highest rates in the tariff (cotton T-shirts under 6109.10, for example, are 16.5%).
- Section 301 forced-labor duty: an additional 10% on products of Sri Lanka since July 24, 2026, under heading 9903.05.72. Sri Lanka is in the 10% tier with India, Indonesia and Bangladesh; China, Vietnam and Thailand pay 12.5%.
- Note 52(b) exemptions: products listed in U.S. note 52(b) don’t pay the 10%. They include all tea (heading 0902), natural rubber in primary forms (heading 4001), cinnamon, pepper and other spices, desiccated coconut and coconut oil. Articles made of rubber, such as gloves and tires, are not on the list.
- Section 232, charged instead of the 10% where a product is covered: steel and aluminum articles pay 50% on the full customs value, listed derivatives 25% or 50% depending on the annex, and tires for passenger cars and light trucks 25% as auto parts.
- Antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD): as of October 2026, the only order on a Sri Lankan product is the antidumping order on paper file folders, in place since September 29, 2025.
- Ended measures: the IEEPA tariffs, 20% on Sri Lanka from August 7, 2025, stopped being collected on February 24, 2026, after the Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs, and refunds are being processed through ACE. The 10% Section 122 surcharge that replaced them expired on July 24, 2026. GSP, under which many Sri Lankan goods once entered duty-free, lapsed on December 31, 2020 and has not been renewed.
- Duties are assessed on the customs value of the goods, not the freight. The merchandise processing fee (MPF) and harbor maintenance fee (HMF) are added at entry.
FCL and LCL Shipping from Sri Lanka to the USA
Most Sri Lanka–USA cargo Airlift handles ships as a full container load (FCL), a container of your own loaded at the factory or a container freight station and sealed until delivery. On Airlift’s Sri Lanka bookings, the 40′ high cube is by far the most common box, with 20′ standard and 45′ high-cube containers also used. Recent sailings have been with ONE, Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk and CMA CGM, and most of them sailed from Colombo straight to the US, with Colombo as the last port before arrival.
LCL, where your cartons or pallets share a container with other shippers’ cargo, is available on request. It is charged on weight or measure plus handling at the container freight stations at each end, and takes longer door to door than a container of your own because the cargo is consolidated, relayed and unpacked.
How to choose
- Under roughly 13 m³, LCL is usually cheaper. Between about 13 and 20 m³, ask for both, because a 20′ container often costs little more once LCL handling charges are added. Over 20 m³, FCL usually wins on cost, handling and transit.
- Fragile or time-critical goods favor FCL even at small volumes, because the container is sealed at origin and opened at your door.
- Dense cargo such as metal products reaches the container’s weight limit before it fills the space, so a 20′ container is often the better fit; light cargo such as coir products and garments fills a 40′ high cube by volume.
Door-to-Door Delivery and Inland Routing in the USA
A door-to-door booking covers pickup in Sri Lanka, export clearance in Colombo, the ocean or air leg, the US customs entry and delivery to your warehouse. Origin pickup and trucking in Sri Lanka are available on request. In the US, Airlift USA arranges delivery through contracted trucking companies.
Most Sri Lankan containers land at New York and New Jersey and finish by truck. For inland destinations, a container can continue by rail on the same bill of lading: Airlift’s Sri Lanka shipments have gone on to Midwest rail points such as Chicago through New York or Norfolk, and to inland points through Los Angeles. Which gateway is cheaper for an inland delivery depends on the rail rate and the sailing, so ask for both East Coast and West Coast options.
Common incoterms on this lane are FOB Colombo (the supplier delivers the goods on board and you pay from there), EXW (you pay from the factory door, including the haul to Colombo) and CIF or CFR (the supplier pays the ocean freight to the US port). Airlift can quote from any of these points.
What happens after the container lands
- Drayage: a truck and chassis move the container from the terminal or rail ramp to your door, then return the empty to the depot.
- Free time: terminals and rail ramps allow a few days to collect the container before demurrage starts, and carriers allow a few days to return the empty before detention applies. Book the delivery appointment before the vessel arrives.
- Transloading: containers can be unloaded at a warehouse near the port and reloaded into domestic trailers for multi-stop deliveries.
Choosing a Freight Forwarder for Sri Lanka to USA Shipments
On this lane, a freight forwarder arranges pickup and loading, makes sure the CusDec and any Tea Board or phytosanitary certificate are in order, books vessel or aircraft space out of Colombo, files the ISF before loading, coordinates the US customs entry and duty payment, and arranges delivery from the port or rail ramp.
Airlift USA has been in business since 1999 and is an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162) and a C-TPAT certified partner. It has no office of its own in Sri Lanka: Airlift’s Chennai branch coordinates the bookings, and origin services in Colombo are available on request. Airlift USA’s offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles run the US side, filing the ISF, having the entry filed by licensed customs brokers and arranging delivery through contracted trucking companies.
Checklist for choosing a forwarder:
- An FMC license and NVOCC bond, so the forwarder can issue its own house bills of lading.
- Origin handling that knows Sri Lankan export paperwork, plus ocean and air capability, so a delayed order can switch modes without switching forwarders.
- An ISF filing record: late or inaccurate filings can draw CBP liquidated damages of up to $5,000 per filing.
- HTS classification and duty estimates before you book, especially where Section 232 or a note 52(b) exemption changes the landed cost.
- Tracking and document access, not emailed status updates.
How to Ship from Sri Lanka to the USA: Step by Step
- Request a quote: send the cargo, the cargo-ready date, FCL or LCL, and the US delivery point (port, rail ramp or door). If the date is tight, ask for an air option alongside.
- Classify the goods: confirm the HTS code and estimate duties, including whether the 10% Section 301 duty, a note 52(b) exemption or Section 232 applies, before the order ships.
- Check the origin paperwork: Tea Board registration and quality certificate for tea, a phytosanitary certificate for plant products, FDA registration for food and medical gloves.
- Confirm the booking: space is secured on a sailing from Colombo, with document, VGM and gate-in cut-offs.
- Pickup and loading: the container is stuffed at the factory or a container freight station, sealed and gated in at Colombo.
- Sri Lankan export customs: the CusDec is filed with Sri Lanka Customs with the commercial invoice and packing list.
- ISF and bill of lading: Airlift USA files the ISF at least 24 hours before loading and issues the house bill of lading once the vessel sails. Air shipments move on an air waybill and need no ISF.
- In transit: track by container or bill of lading number, with ETA updates, including any relay at a hub.
- US customs entry: the entry is filed through licensed customs brokers, with FDA prior notice where required. Duties are paid under your bond, and any CBP examination is handled.
- Delivery: drayage from the port or rail ramp to your door, with the empty container returned within free time.
Why Ship Sri Lanka–USA with Airlift
- FCL from Colombo to New York and other US ports, with LCL and air freight on request
- A published transit range from Airlift’s own shipments: Colombo to New York 28–35 days (P10–P90)
- In business since 1999; FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162), filing the ISF on the containers it carries
- Experience with metal products, rubber goods, coir products and food products from Sri Lanka
- Airlift’s Chennai branch for coordination, origin services on request and Airlift USA’s own offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles for the US side
Check our licenses before you ship
Each license and membership below links to the public register or directory that lists it, so you can verify who you are dealing with before you send cargo details.
- FMC OTI license 016162 — Licensed and bonded NVOCC and ocean freight forwarder, d/b/a Airlift Container Line. Look it up on the FMC OTI list →
- FMCSA property broker, USDOT 2355713 / MC-798584 — US drayage and trucking arranged as a non-asset broker through contracted motor carriers. FMCSA SAFER company snapshot →
- WCA World member since 2019 — Los Angeles head office and New Jersey branch, both with Gold Medallion financial protection. WCA member profile →
- C-TPAT certified — Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, U.S. Customs and Border Protection. About C-TPAT →
- NCBFAA regular member — National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America. NCBFAA →
- IATA CargoLink listed — IATA-accredited air cargo agent, listed in the CargoLink directory. CargoLink listing →
What to include in your quote request
The more of this you send, the more complete the quote, and the easier it is to compare with others.
- Pickup and delivery locations, preferred ports and inland transport requirements.
- Cargo description, package count, gross weight and packed dimensions, or container size and quantity.
- Cargo-ready date, delivery deadline and handling or storage requirements.
- Which services and charges you want quoted, so every quote you compare covers the same scope.
Request a Sri Lanka–USA freight quote
Your route is already in the notes; edit it if you need to. Then add what you are shipping, when it is ready, pickup and delivery locations, and the services you want quoted.
Tools and guides for this lane
Shipping from a country without a lane guide? See every origin, by region, on shipping to the USA by country of origin.
Frequently asked questions
Colombo to New York takes about 28–35 days port to port: that is the P10–P90 range of Airlift’s own Colombo–New York shipments that sailed between July 2025 and June 2026, typically around 31 days. Published carrier schedules for October 2026 sailings list Charleston at 29–38 days, Houston at 33–42, Savannah at 27–65 and Long Beach at 39–57; the wide ranges mix direct sailings with relays at European or Asian hubs. Air freight is a matter of days, not weeks. These are planning ranges, not guaranteed schedules.
Almost all of them load at the Port of Colombo (LKCMB), Sri Lanka’s main container port and the one Airlift’s Sri Lanka bookings use. Colombo’s container terminals are CICT, SAGT, the Colombo West International Terminal (CWIT) and the terminals run by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority. On the US side, most of Airlift’s Sri Lanka containers discharge at New York and New Jersey; others go to Norfolk, Savannah, Houston, Los Angeles or Tacoma, or continue by rail to inland points such as Chicago.
No. Colombo is one of South Asia’s main transshipment hubs, and most of the containers it handles are relayed for other countries, India above all. In the Sealanes carrier-schedule snapshot of September 18, 2026, most of the US-bound sailings listed from Tuticorin relayed at Colombo, and so did many from Kolkata and Ennore. US customs looks at where the goods were made, not where the ship called. Indian goods relayed through Colombo are entered as Indian goods; this guide covers goods made in Sri Lanka and loaded at Colombo.
As of October 2026, a Sri Lankan-origin entry pays the normal HTS (Column 1) rate for the product plus a 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty, reported under heading 9903.05.72 and in effect since July 24, 2026. Products listed in U.S. note 52(b), such as tea, natural rubber and spices, are exempt, and some metal products pay Section 232 duties instead of the forced-labor duty. The IEEPA tariffs, 20% on Sri Lanka from August 2025, stopped being collected on February 24, 2026, and the 10% Section 122 surcharge that followed expired on July 24, 2026. Duty is charged on the value of the goods, not the freight.
Yes. Every tea line under heading 0902 and natural rubber in primary forms under heading 4001 (including latex, smoked sheets and technically specified rubber) are on the U.S. note 52(b) list, so they don’t pay the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty; most of them are also duty-free at the Column 1 rate. Cinnamon, pepper, desiccated coconut and coconut oil are on the list too. Rubber products are not: gloves, mats, solid and industrial tires and other articles of rubber pay the 10% on top of their normal rate, while tires for passenger cars and light trucks pay the 25% Section 232 auto-parts duty instead. Check the exact HTS line before you price the shipment.
Medical gloves, which include examination and surgical gloves, are FDA-regulated medical devices. The Sri Lankan manufacturer must be registered with the FDA and list the device, and the glove type needs 510(k) premarket clearance. FDA also runs an import alert under which gloves from listed firms can be detained without examination. For duty, rubber and nitrile gloves pay their Column 1 rate plus the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty. Industrial and household gloves don’t need FDA clearance but pay the same duties.
Apparel is Sri Lanka’s largest export industry, and garments carry some of the highest Column 1 rates in the tariff (cotton T-shirts under 6109.10, for example, are 16.5%) plus the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty. Under the textile origin rules in 19 CFR 102.21, most sewn garments take the origin of the country where they are wholly assembled, so garments sewn in Sri Lanka from imported fabric are usually Sri Lankan. Keep yarn and fabric sourcing records: under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, CBP can detain cotton goods it suspects contain Xinjiang cotton.
In Sri Lanka: a commercial invoice, a packing list and the export customs declaration (CusDec), which is filed with Sri Lanka Customs through its ASYCUDA system. Tea also needs the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s quality certificate for each shipment, plant products may need a phytosanitary certificate, and a certificate of origin from a chamber of commerce is issued if the buyer asks for one. In the US: the ISF at least 24 hours before loading at Colombo, the customs entry with a bond, and any agency filing, such as FDA prior notice for tea and spices.
Yes. Air cargo leaves Bandaranaike International Airport (CMB) in Colombo. There is no nonstop cargo service to the US, so shipments connect through a hub in the Middle East, Europe or Asia, and the connection decides most of the transit time. Air is priced on chargeable weight (the greater of actual weight and length × width × height in centimeters ÷ 6,000), and air shipments need no ISF. Duties don’t change with the mode: the 10% Section 301 forced-labor duty applies to air cargo as it does to containers.
No. Airlift has no office of its own in Sri Lanka. Airlift’s Chennai branch coordinates Sri Lanka bookings, and origin services in Colombo, such as pickup and export clearance, are available on request. In the US, Airlift USA’s offices in New Jersey and Los Angeles file the ISF, have the customs entry filed by licensed customs brokers and arrange delivery through contracted trucking companies. Airlift USA has been in business since 1999 and is an FMC-licensed NVOCC (FMC No. 016162).
Most of Airlift’s Sri Lanka–USA cargo moves as full containers (FCL), usually 40′ high cubes, with 20′ and 45′ high-cube equipment also booked. LCL, where your cargo shares a container with other shippers’ freight, is available on request and usually costs less below roughly 13 m³. Between about 13 and 20 m³, compare both, because a 20′ container often costs little more once LCL handling charges are added. Above that, a container of your own usually wins on cost, handling and transit.
One booking can cover pickup at the factory in Sri Lanka, export clearance in Colombo, the ocean or air leg, the US customs entry and delivery to your warehouse. Pickup and export clearance in Sri Lanka are available on request. In the US, containers are delivered from the port by truck, or continue by rail to inland points such as Chicago on the same bill of lading. Agree on the incoterm and the list of included charges before you compare quotes.
Airlift doesn’t publish a fixed price, because rates change with the US port, container size, season, carrier and routing (Suez Canal or Cape of Good Hope). For most commercial cargo, a full container to New York or another East Coast port gives the lowest cost per unit. LCL usually wins below roughly 13 m³, and air costs the most. Budget separately for US destination charges (ISF, customs entry, bond, drayage and any detention after free time) and for duties, which are charged on the value of the goods. Request a quote with your cargo details.
Yes. Sailings from Colombo to the US East Coast either go through the Suez Canal or around the Cape of Good Hope, and the Cape routing adds about a week or more. As of October 2026, some carriers have moved selected services back to Suez while others still route around the Cape, and decisions change with the security situation: Maersk moved its India–US East Coast service around the Cape in March 2026 and was transiting Suez again by August. Ask which routing your sailing uses when you book.
Yes. Every commercial entry into the USA needs a customs bond, which guarantees the duties, taxes and fees. A continuous bond covers all your entries and ISF filings for a year and suits regular importers; a single-transaction bond covers one entry and suits a one-off shipment. The licensed customs brokers Airlift USA works with can arrange either before the container loads in Colombo. The ISF itself is due at least 24 hours before loading.