Colon Free Zone is one of the most important commercial clusters of the country, mainly dedicated to the import and re-export of finished and semi-finished goods and offers complementary services to foreign trade. Its business model has a direct relationship between producer countries, regional customers, and the goods it trades, while its commercial performance is derived from varied flows of goods from production centers to consumer markets. Therefore, any variation in these flows can cause effects on the commercial movement of the free zone. The objective of this research is to characterize the business model of the Colon Free Zone in order to identify the level of dependence between stakeholders and the susceptibility to this international business center.

The results demonstrate high volatility related to economic growth and political stability of countries that interact as production centers, suppliers, and consumer markets. There is a strong dependence on China and Singapore equivalent to 52.7% of imports in 2015. The redistribution of "pharma" (pharmaceuticals and medicines) equals to 19.4%, followed by clothing, textiles and other related goods corresponding to 15.1% of re-exports. Also, there is a strong dependence on the consumer markets of Puerto Rico (17.1%), Colombia and Venezuela (19.6%), and Panama (9.3%). Together, these four countries represent 46.7% of the total market of this free zone.