Import/export HS code 42021211: Plastic or fabric briefcases and school bags

Executive cases, briefcases, and school bags made with outer surfaces of plastic or fabric

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 5,811,621
France 1,421,269
Netherlands 455,068
Italy 351,649
Poland 228,955

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 2,717,757 3,093,864 +376,107
France 738,311 682,958 -55,353
Netherlands 439,249 15,819 -423,430
Italy 161,708 189,941 +28,233
Poland 199,633 29,322 -170,311
United States 98,833 69,500 -29,333
Canada 98,539 26,229 -72,310
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 12,908 84,619 +71,711
Switzerland 28,871 51,085 +22,214
Pakistan 50,248 17,592 -32,656

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 6,648,486
France 1,035,224
Romania 210,321
Poland 205,493
Italy 194,467

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 3,248,367 3,400,119 +151,752
France 498,350 536,874 +38,524
Romania 83,471 126,850 +43,379
Poland 176,171 29,322 -146,849
Italy 89,794 104,673 +14,879
Cambodia 148,254 34,505 -113,749
India 109,710 28,630 -81,080
United States 63,296 42,592 -20,704
Canada 98,138 4,669 -93,469
Pakistan 50,248 17,592 -32,656

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 28
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 10
Greater Manchester 10
Inner London - East 8
Outer London - West and North West 8

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
Inner London - West 25 14 -11
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6 7 +1
Greater Manchester 5 7 +2
Inner London - East 4 5 +1
Outer London - West and North West 7 4 -3
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 4 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 2 -3
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 4 4 +0
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 3 2 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 3 +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) 4,680,044
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,406,284
Other 1,220,430
Air transport 734,785
Road transport 40,186

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) 1,771,469 2,908,575 +1,137,106
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,510,821 895,463 -615,358
Other 998,700 221,730 -776,970
Air transport 365,584 369,201 +3,617
Road transport 0 40,186 +40,186

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 2,733,426
000 1,220,430
Eurotunnel 910,060
Southampton 823,480
499 698,030

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 1,409,267 1,324,159 -85,108
000 998,700 221,730 -776,970
Eurotunnel 388,032 522,028 +133,996
Southampton 493,183 330,297 -162,886
499 1,241 696,789 +695,548
Dover 475,970 177,362 -298,608
London Gateway Port 66,581 452,775 +386,194
London Heathrow Airport 153,216 185,697 +32,481
Dover / Eurotunnel 133,091 93,304 -39,787
London Stansted Airport 140,511 55,486 -85,025

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 57
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 42
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 9
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 5
Architectural and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 10
2026-03 13
2026-02 12
2026-01 18
2025-12 13

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+ 56
1m-15m 38
Other 13
0-1m 11
15m-54m 11

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 454,273
France 353,649
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 345,267
Switzerland 290,811
Germany 198,139

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 249,650 204,623 -45,027
France 104,941 248,708 +143,767
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 158,129 187,138 +29,009
Switzerland 241,565 49,246 -192,319
Germany 97,332 100,807 +3,475
China, Macao Special Administrative Region 45,377 124,710 +79,333
Italy 95,162 49,154 -46,008
Ireland 89,877 35,801 -54,076
Austria 57,513 47,873 -9,640
United Arab Emirates 43,330 61,077 +17,747

Exports by country of origin

What this shows: Export volume by production origin country. For re-exports, indicates where goods originated before UK export.

Top 5 values

Origin £
China 50,036
United States 2,055
XI 208
Indonesia 75

Export origin countries 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 export value, right side by second 12-month export value, so rank changes are visible from line crossings.

Top 10 values

Origin First 12m £ Second 12m £ Delta £
China 41,139 8,897 -32,242
United States 0 2,055 +2,055
XI 0 208 +208
Indonesia 75 0 -75

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 2,202,670
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 906,113
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 329,398
Other 63,055

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 1,111,924 1,090,746 -21,178
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 483,288 422,825 -60,463
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 142,821 186,577 +43,756
Other 48,327 14,728 -33,599

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 899,130
Dover / Eurotunnel 747,824
London Heathrow Airport 721,232
ZLC 423,164
Southampton 113,026

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 £
East Midlands Airport 550,391 348,739 -201,652
Dover / Eurotunnel 391,937 355,887 -36,050
London Heathrow Airport 268,586 452,646 +184,060
ZLC 177,564 245,600 +68,036
Southampton 55,602 57,424 +1,822
London Stansted Airport 100,428 9,711 -90,717
London Gateway Port 16,623 87,536 +70,913
Liverpool Docks 66,071 30,994 -35,077
000 48,327 14,728 -33,599
Dover 14,362 27,305 +12,943

Quick facts

HS code: 42021211

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

Description: Executive cases, briefcases, and school bags made with outer surfaces of plastic or fabric