Import/export HS code 2849: Carbides, chemically defined or not

Hard materials made by combining carbon with metals or other elements. Used in tools, cutting equipment, and industrial applications

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 £
China 5,533,191
Germany 5,031,319
Norway 3,200,600
South Africa 2,430,757
United States 1,966,892

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 £
China 2,026,172 3,507,019 +1,480,847
Germany 2,108,932 2,922,387 +813,455
Norway 1,566,109 1,634,491 +68,382
South Africa 1,814,737 616,020 -1,198,717
United States 811,766 1,155,126 +343,360
Netherlands 1,000,097 401,841 -598,256
Spain 530,060 785,458 +255,398
Viet Nam 803,553 492,633 -310,920
Brazil 585,929 690,749 +104,820
Belgium 853,607 319,801 -533,806

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 6,360,609
Germany 4,965,007
Norway 3,187,987
South Africa 3,112,262
United States 2,113,962

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 2,338,552 4,022,057 +1,683,505
Germany 2,120,996 2,844,011 +723,015
Norway 1,539,085 1,648,902 +109,817
South Africa 2,492,878 619,384 -1,873,494
United States 868,601 1,245,361 +376,760
Viet Nam 951,745 507,981 -443,764
Brazil 605,895 690,749 +84,854
Spain 509,383 632,275 +122,892
Belgium 777,705 290,221 -487,484
Austria 143,825 722,998 +579,173

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5
Shropshire and Staffordshire 5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 4
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3
Greater Manchester 3

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
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5 4 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 5 4 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 3 2 -1
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 0 3 +3
Greater Manchester 2 3 +1
South Yorkshire 3 2 -1
West Yorkshire 2 2 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2 1 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 1 1 +0
Cheshire 2 1 -1

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) 10,406,136
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 9,985,966
Air transport 4,861,063
Other 2,746,495
Road transport 351,860

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) 5,045,141 5,360,995 +315,854
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,071,235 4,914,731 -156,504
Air transport 1,984,144 2,876,919 +892,775
Other 2,167,540 578,955 -1,588,585
Road transport 2,716 349,144 +346,428

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 7,499,895
Liverpool Docks 3,761,786
000 2,746,495
Felixstowe 2,122,498
Dover 1,865,501

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 £
Immingham Docks 4,100,955 3,398,940 -702,015
Liverpool Docks 1,894,950 1,866,836 -28,114
000 2,167,540 578,955 -1,588,585
Felixstowe 729,629 1,392,869 +663,240
Dover 818,674 1,046,827 +228,153
London Gateway Port 837,528 572,240 -265,288
London Heathrow Airport 431,270 851,484 +420,214
Birmingham Airport 344,336 937,232 +592,896
499 0 1,257,429 +1,257,429
East Midlands Airport 288,899 487,019 +198,120

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 17
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 15
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 10
Other manufacturing 5
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 11
2026-03 12
2026-02 17
2026-01 13
2025-12 9

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
54m+ 30
1m-15m 21
15m-54m 11
Other 4
0-1m 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 827,466
Germany 777,262
India 722,661
Japan 700,958
United Arab Emirates 491,313

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 290,945 536,521 +245,576
Germany 388,322 388,940 +618
India 342,564 380,097 +37,533
Japan 379,958 321,000 -58,958
United Arab Emirates 414,054 77,259 -336,795
China 302,027 187,208 -114,819
Belgium 210,093 182,079 -28,014
Norway 193,916 75,283 -118,633
Poland 143,613 96,189 -47,424
France 64,291 159,087 +94,796

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 3,965,103
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,847,284
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,479,660
Other 246

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 2,258,157 1,706,946 -551,211
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 902,725 944,559 +41,834
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 862,041 617,619 -244,422
Other 135 111 -24

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,291,856
London Heathrow Airport 1,211,801
East Midlands Airport 1,173,296
London Gateway Port 997,491
Glasgow Airport 725,258

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 £
Dover / Eurotunnel 664,308 627,548 -36,760
London Heathrow Airport 537,918 673,883 +135,965
East Midlands Airport 739,848 433,448 -306,400
London Gateway Port 603,797 393,694 -210,103
Glasgow Airport 384,893 340,365 -44,528
Manchester Airport 422,610 106,493 -316,117
Immingham Docks 191,951 78,680 -113,271
Southampton 56,604 127,150 +70,546
London Stansted Airport 84,225 92,080 +7,855
Dover 24,736 123,768 +99,032

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 2849

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

Description: Hard materials made by combining carbon with metals or other elements. Used in tools, cutting equipment, and industrial applications