Import/export HS code 42021219: Various plastic or fabric containers

Other types of containers with outer surfaces made of plastic or fabric, not including briefcases or school bags

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 £
France 19,980,203
China 14,139,703
Belgium 11,593,713
Netherlands 880,349
Italy 822,235

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 £
France 9,997,706 9,982,497 -15,209
China 8,339,834 5,799,869 -2,539,965
Belgium 4,794,779 6,798,934 +2,004,155
Netherlands 604,880 275,469 -329,411
Italy 416,670 405,565 -11,105
United States 286,561 445,260 +158,699
Viet Nam 302,586 292,887 -9,699
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 309,865 251,559 -58,306
Pakistan 260,596 127,986 -132,610
Germany 170,358 116,396 -53,962

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 £
France 19,559,128
China 15,978,403
Hungary 9,421,760
Indonesia 2,113,413
Viet Nam 960,274

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 £
France 9,693,394 9,865,734 +172,340
China 9,201,245 6,777,158 -2,424,087
Hungary 3,992,321 5,429,439 +1,437,118
Indonesia 585,424 1,527,989 +942,565
Viet Nam 479,698 480,576 +878
Italy 512,932 382,590 -130,342
United States 194,593 314,614 +120,021
Canada 373,567 85,499 -288,068
Myanmar 253,998 173,505 -80,493
Pakistan 260,596 130,336 -130,260

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 50
Greater Manchester 23
Outer London - West and North West 23
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 21
Inner London - East 17

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 39 27 -12
Greater Manchester 14 16 +2
Outer London - West and North West 20 6 -14
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 17 11 -6
Inner London - East 10 10 +0
Surrey, East and West Sussex 7 11 +4
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 6 8 +2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7 7 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 7 8 +1
West Midlands 8 6 -2

Import volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 30,773,882
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 16,918,457
Air transport 3,406,629
Other 1,002,782
Road transport 246,163

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 14,739,973 16,033,909 +1,293,936
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 9,321,547 7,596,910 -1,724,637
Air transport 1,184,316 2,222,313 +1,037,997
Other 911,728 91,054 -820,674
Road transport 62,562 183,601 +121,039

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 19,960,391
Felixstowe 7,636,187
Eurotunnel 6,084,519
Southampton 3,427,241
London Heathrow Airport 2,341,806

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 £
Dover / Eurotunnel 10,103,955 9,856,436 -247,519
Felixstowe 5,154,766 2,481,421 -2,673,345
Eurotunnel 2,323,431 3,761,088 +1,437,657
Southampton 2,299,174 1,128,067 -1,171,107
London Heathrow Airport 717,340 1,624,466 +907,126
Thamesport 1,005,967 1,315,626 +309,659
Dover 1,059,725 1,054,786 -4,939
London Gateway Port 294,734 1,211,969 +917,235
London 455,060 851,598 +396,538
000 911,728 91,054 -820,674

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
130
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
103
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities
16
Other manufacturing
13
Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles
13

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 46
2026-04 37
2026-03 37
2026-02 36
2026-01 28

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+ 117
1m-15m 84
15m-54m 42
0-1m 39
Other 35

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 £
France 5,434,634
Germany 685,158
Ireland 486,940
United States 365,624
United Arab Emirates 324,995

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 £
France 2,782,983 2,651,651 -131,332
Germany 509,059 176,099 -332,960
Ireland 176,445 310,495 +134,050
United States 156,568 209,056 +52,488
United Arab Emirates 90,629 234,366 +143,737
Netherlands 177,923 142,170 -35,753
Italy 73,625 242,011 +168,386
Qatar 50,261 123,756 +73,495
Switzerland 59,383 36,800 -22,583
Singapore 57,985 14,546 -43,439

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 4,154
France 853
Cambodia 406
United States 378
XI 188

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 1,177 2,977 +1,800
France 853 0 -853
Cambodia 0 406 +406
United States 0 378 +378
XI 188 0 -188
India 25 0 -25

Export volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,701,732
Air transport 1,902,888
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 243,252
Other 109,403

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,581,489 3,120,243 -461,246
Air transport 728,618 1,174,270 +445,652
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 93,782 149,470 +55,688
Other 59,045 50,358 -8,687

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,195,091
London Heathrow Airport 788,422
East Midlands Airport 574,178
ZLC 346,587
Harwich 248,211

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 3,315,206 2,879,885 -435,321
London Heathrow Airport 325,476 462,946 +137,470
East Midlands Airport 182,150 392,028 +209,878
ZLC 105,283 241,304 +136,021
Harwich 108,794 139,417 +30,623
London Stansted Airport 104,136 66,120 -38,016
Holyhead 62,294 78,525 +16,231
000 59,045 50,358 -8,687
Immingham Docks 71,678 11,328 -60,350
Liverpool Docks 29,937 39,196 +9,259

Quick facts

HS code: 42021219

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

Description: Other types of containers with outer surfaces made of plastic or fabric, not including briefcases or school bags