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 18,603,927
China 13,122,130
Belgium 9,810,807
Netherlands 826,868
Italy 768,721

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 10,007,044 8,596,883 -1,410,161
China 8,254,461 4,867,669 -3,386,792
Belgium 4,560,309 5,250,498 +690,189
Netherlands 347,885 478,983 +131,098
Italy 478,495 290,226 -188,269
United States 309,930 313,941 +4,011
Viet Nam 369,936 213,297 -156,639
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 280,246 284,293 +4,047
Pakistan 270,274 96,291 -173,983
Germany 153,882 145,350 -8,532

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 18,142,126
China 14,557,442
Hungary 8,098,186
Indonesia 1,429,047
Viet Nam 909,535

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 9,697,838 8,444,288 -1,253,550
China 8,797,382 5,760,060 -3,037,322
Hungary 4,121,651 3,976,535 -145,116
Indonesia 329,799 1,099,248 +769,449
Viet Nam 548,123 361,412 -186,711
Italy 571,379 297,371 -274,008
United States 268,898 202,024 -66,874
Canada 229,864 237,954 +8,090
Myanmar 297,058 145,610 -151,448
Pakistan 270,274 96,291 -173,983

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 47
Outer London - West and North West 23
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 22
Greater Manchester 21
Inner London - East 16

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 37 27 -10
Outer London - West and North West 21 6 -15
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 15 13 -2
Greater Manchester 14 13 -1
Inner London - East 9 11 +2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 8 7 -1
West Midlands 9 6 -3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 7 +1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 7 5 -2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 4 7 +3

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) 27,718,741
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 15,492,508
Air transport 2,572,616
Other 1,164,691
Road transport 160,339

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) 14,547,896 13,170,845 -1,377,051
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 9,129,364 6,363,144 -2,766,220
Air transport 1,367,603 1,205,013 -162,590
Other 701,831 462,860 -238,971
Road transport 77,943 82,396 +4,453

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 18,744,765
Felixstowe 7,405,414
Eurotunnel 4,682,482
Southampton 3,897,008
Thamesport 2,006,146

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 10,038,700 8,706,065 -1,332,635
Felixstowe 5,299,201 2,106,213 -3,192,988
Eurotunnel 1,823,781 2,858,701 +1,034,920
Southampton 2,385,984 1,511,024 -874,960
Thamesport 852,210 1,153,936 +301,726
Dover 1,391,686 533,247 -858,439
London Heathrow Airport 767,839 826,478 +58,639
London 653,590 565,007 -88,583
000 701,831 462,860 -238,971
London Gateway Port 133,320 670,094 +536,774

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 124
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 93
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 17
Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 15
Other manufacturing 12

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 28
2025-11 41
2025-10 38
2025-09 35
2025-08 39

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 77
0-1m 37
15m-54m 37
Other 31

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 5,269,299
Germany 661,109
Ireland 480,265
United Arab Emirates 348,937
Italy 292,202

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 2,897,777 2,371,522 -526,255
Germany 544,666 116,443 -428,223
Ireland 203,410 276,855 +73,445
United Arab Emirates 111,062 237,875 +126,813
Italy 53,205 238,997 +185,792
United States 190,375 95,314 -95,061
Netherlands 186,425 72,770 -113,655
Qatar 40,571 109,496 +68,925
Switzerland 15,512 77,130 +61,618
Canada 61,612 9,511 -52,101

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 1,259
France 853
XI 188
India 25

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 1,038 221 -817
France 853 0 -853
XI 156 32 -124
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) 6,614,090
Air transport 1,703,451
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 185,604
Other 99,356

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) 3,701,864 2,912,226 -789,638
Air transport 860,628 842,823 -17,805
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 101,105 84,499 -16,606
Other 64,036 35,320 -28,716

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,133,888
London Heathrow Airport 807,329
East Midlands Airport 476,372
ZLC 252,566
Harwich 175,392

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 3,408,198 2,725,690 -682,508
London Heathrow Airport 385,544 421,785 +36,241
East Midlands Airport 226,573 249,799 +23,226
ZLC 124,780 127,786 +3,006
Harwich 107,101 68,291 -38,810
Holyhead 82,390 70,266 -12,124
London Stansted Airport 111,716 36,549 -75,167
Immingham Docks 84,198 18,288 -65,910
000 64,036 35,320 -28,716
Dover 10,998 48,659 +37,661

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