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 5,842,428
France 1,416,049
Netherlands 445,520
Italy 356,501
Poland 233,849

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 2,897,838 2,944,590 +46,752
France 763,865 652,184 -111,681
Netherlands 428,350 17,170 -411,180
Italy 151,407 205,094 +53,687
Poland 204,288 29,561 -174,727
United States 73,660 63,472 -10,188
Canada 107,242 7,304 -99,938
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 6,105 84,619 +78,514
Switzerland 40,744 35,486 -5,258
Germany 45,344 27,740 -17,604

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 6,639,966
France 1,027,177
Romania 226,548
Poland 210,387
Cambodia 192,372

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 3,419,815 3,220,151 -199,664
France 511,337 515,840 +4,503
Romania 82,370 144,178 +61,808
Poland 180,826 29,561 -151,265
Cambodia 148,254 44,118 -104,136
Italy 90,856 93,765 +2,909
India 109,710 28,630 -81,080
United States 62,627 38,841 -23,786
Canada 89,758 4,669 -85,089
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 0 23,729 +23,729

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 26
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 24 12 -12
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8 5 -3
Greater Manchester 6 5 -1
Inner London - East 4 5 +1
Outer London - West and North West 7 4 -3
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 4 5 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 3 -2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 3 -2
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 3 2 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 4 +2

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) 4,685,457
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,405,730
Other 1,188,389
Air transport 694,133
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) 1,892,871 2,792,586 +899,715
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,524,832 880,898 -643,934
Other 1,002,040 186,349 -815,691
Air transport 339,061 355,072 +16,011
Road transport 13,621 26,565 +12,944

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 2,752,013
000 1,188,389
Eurotunnel 921,538
Southampton 787,350
499 716,798

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 1,462,690 1,289,323 -173,367
000 1,002,040 186,349 -815,691
Eurotunnel 424,308 497,230 +72,922
Southampton 529,637 257,713 -271,924
499 1,241 715,557 +714,316
Dover 460,154 165,291 -294,863
London Gateway Port 103,587 423,735 +320,148
London Heathrow Airport 120,771 163,703 +42,932
Dover / Eurotunnel 136,023 111,741 -24,282
London Stansted Airport 145,687 55,419 -90,268

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
55
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
43
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
2026-05 13
2026-04 10
2026-03 13
2026-02 12
2026-01 18

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+ 55
1m-15m 38
Other 13
0-1m 10
15m-54m 10

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 452,924
France 357,399
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 341,350
Switzerland 292,973
Germany 197,004

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 252,677 200,247 -52,430
France 116,692 240,707 +124,015
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 115,818 225,532 +109,714
Switzerland 243,923 49,050 -194,873
Germany 95,336 101,668 +6,332
China, Macao Special Administrative Region 23,517 123,810 +100,293
Italy 98,322 37,059 -61,263
Netherlands 62,341 57,638 -4,703
Ireland 81,200 35,890 -45,310
Austria 57,513 47,873 -9,640

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 45,793
United States 2,055
XI 257
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 37,037 8,756 -28,281
United States 0 2,055 +2,055
XI 0 257 +257
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 2,173,514
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 920,379
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 327,648
Other 58,630

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 1,023,455 1,150,059 +126,604
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 502,219 418,160 -84,059
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 163,901 163,747 -154
Other 44,129 14,501 -29,628

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 869,595
Dover / Eurotunnel 762,177
London Heathrow Airport 711,830
ZLC 424,830
London Stansted Airport 119,429

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 516,617 352,978 -163,639
Dover / Eurotunnel 409,078 353,099 -55,979
London Heathrow Airport 208,042 503,788 +295,746
ZLC 190,181 234,649 +44,468
London Stansted Airport 94,835 24,594 -70,241
Southampton 60,456 52,570 -7,886
London Gateway Port 32,849 69,560 +36,711
Liverpool Docks 69,195 27,870 -41,325
000 44,129 14,501 -29,628
Dover 14,924 24,092 +9,168

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