Import/export HS code 280530: Rare-earth metals

Includes metals like cerium, lanthanum, and yttrium, used in magnets, electronics, and lasers

Why this is important if you are looking for potential customers in the UK:

  • It helps you understand the market size for your product in the UK.
  • It provides you with a list of potential leads who have bought similar products.

* UK only, last 24 months analysed

Imports by country

What this shows: Import market volume by exporter country into the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
United States 3,262,604
China 2,150,277
Germany 587,507
Austria 452,206
Netherlands 292,084

Countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month volume, right side by second 12-month volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
United States 793,201 2,469,403 +1,676,202
China 453,721 1,696,556 +1,242,835
Germany 27,644 559,863 +532,219
Austria 165,836 286,370 +120,534
Netherlands 124,924 167,160 +42,236
Japan 1,862 183,986 +182,124
Taiwan 14,570 72,310 +57,740
Thailand 0 58,157 +58,157
Canada 0 33,522 +33,522
France 944 19,576 +18,632

Imports by country of origin

What this shows: Import volume by production origin country. Differences from exporter-country data can indicate re-export routes.

Top 5 values

Origin £
China 6,124,392
United States 490,684
Japan 185,848
Austria 140,934
Taiwan 120,545

Country of origin rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Origin countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
China 1,346,656 4,777,736 +3,431,080
United States 175,018 315,666 +140,648
Japan 1,862 183,986 +182,124
Austria 0 140,934 +140,934
Taiwan 48,235 72,310 +24,075
Thailand 0 58,157 +58,157
United Kingdom 14,826 0 -14,826
Viet Nam 6,650 0 -6,650
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 5,686 0 -5,686
Netherlands 4,539 886 -3,653

Importers across UK regions

What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1
Cheshire 1
Essex 1
Greater Manchester 1
Inner London - East 1

UK regions rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: UK regions are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month importer count, right side by second 12-month importer count, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

UK region First 12m Second 12m Delta
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1 0 -1
Cheshire 1 1 +0
Essex 1 1 +0
Greater Manchester 1 1 +0
Inner London - East 0 1 +1
Inner London - West 1 0 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 0 1 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 1 1 +0

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 2,865,129
Air transport 2,333,072
Other 1,007,331
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 952,253

Transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 477,512 2,387,617 +1,910,105
Air transport 403,753 1,929,319 +1,525,566
Other 601,581 405,750 -195,831
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 123,353 828,900 +705,547

Import volume by port

What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 1,699,750
Manchester Airport 1,501,244
000 1,007,331
499 757,750
Dover 513,522

Port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month import value, right side by second 12-month import value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Felixstowe 338,840 1,360,910 +1,022,070
Manchester Airport 103,214 1,398,030 +1,294,816
000 601,581 405,750 -195,831
499 0 757,750 +757,750
Dover 85,753 427,769 +342,016
London Stansted Airport 192,687 206,712 +14,025
London Heathrow Airport 52,599 185,308 +132,709
Immingham Docks 48,437 152,232 +103,795
Southampton 28,323 159,709 +131,386
Eurotunnel 75,764 94,064 +18,300

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of basic metals 3
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 2
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 2
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 2
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 2

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 3
2026-02 1
2026-01 3
2025-12 1
2025-11 2

Top importers

What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.

Importer company size by revenue band

What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.

Top 5 values

Revenue Companies
1m-15m 4
54m+ 3
15m-54m 1
Other 1

Import seasonality

What this shows: Average monthly import pattern from historical data.

Exports by country

What this shows: Export market volume by destination country from the UK.

Top 5 values

Country £
United States 1,136,051
Germany 218,873
Australia 209,996
Japan 125,167
France 115,638

Export countries rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Destination countries are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export volume, right side by second 12-month export volume, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Country First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
United States 649,185 486,866 -162,319
Germany 34,368 184,505 +150,137
Australia 56,222 153,774 +97,552
Japan 51,706 73,461 +21,755
France 81,969 33,669 -48,300
South Africa 95,443 0 -95,443
Netherlands 20,221 26,760 +6,539
Israel 5,329 24,299 +18,970
Czechia 19,787 7,794 -11,993
China 5,842 16,816 +10,974

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 955,762
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 933,554
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 228,171

Export transport rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Transport modes are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Transport First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Air transport 613,039 342,723 -270,316
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 407,058 526,496 +119,438
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 41,510 186,661 +145,151

Export volume by port

What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.

Top 5 values

Port £
Liverpool Docks 625,957
London Stansted Airport 444,481
Southampton 294,411
Dover / Eurotunnel 202,734
East Midlands Airport 196,350

Export port rank shift: first 12 months vs second 12 months

What this shows: Ports are on both sides of the Sankey. Left side is sorted by first 12-month export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Port First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
Liverpool Docks 308,352 317,605 +9,253
London Stansted Airport 281,206 163,275 -117,931
Southampton 85,520 208,891 +123,371
Dover / Eurotunnel 16,073 186,661 +170,588
East Midlands Airport 160,208 36,142 -124,066
Manchester Airport 69,704 73,536 +3,832
ZLC 64,224 36,915 -27,309
London Heathrow Airport 37,697 32,855 -4,842
Felixstowe 37,285 0 -37,285
Holyhead 1,338 0 -1,338

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 280530

Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months

Description: Includes metals like cerium, lanthanum, and yttrium, used in magnets, electronics, and lasers