Import/export HS code 481960: Office storage items

Paper-based office supplies like box files, letter trays, and storage boxes

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 10,087,810
Ireland 4,966,216
Turkey 4,431,751
Germany 3,095,460
United States 2,320,990

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 5,861,689 4,226,121 -1,635,568
Ireland 2,737,454 2,228,762 -508,692
Turkey 2,526,863 1,904,888 -621,975
Germany 1,673,343 1,422,117 -251,226
United States 359,513 1,961,477 +1,601,964
Netherlands 1,051,621 1,078,881 +27,260
Lithuania 1,057,148 677,095 -380,053
France 439,325 800,767 +361,442
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 378,095 377,374 -721
Spain 341,247 138,759 -202,488

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 11,687,624
Turkey 4,432,009
Germany 2,945,648
United States 2,322,935
Ireland 2,059,497

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 6,545,719 5,141,905 -1,403,814
Turkey 2,528,768 1,903,241 -625,527
Germany 1,684,389 1,261,259 -423,130
United States 384,872 1,938,063 +1,553,191
Ireland 1,019,065 1,040,432 +21,367
Lithuania 1,113,819 903,906 -209,913
Netherlands 774,234 457,032 -317,202
Poland 411,389 619,411 +208,022
Italy 200,374 681,376 +481,002
France 464,108 216,125 -247,983

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 84
Greater Manchester 72
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 45
Inner London - East 42
Outer London - West and North West 33

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 53 47 -6
Greater Manchester 53 34 -19
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 25 24 -1
Inner London - East 36 19 -17
Outer London - West and North West 23 19 -4
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 22 19 -3
West Yorkshire 21 9 -12
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 17 12 -5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 13 7 -6
Essex 10 12 +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) 13,262,714
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,116,452
Air transport 6,036,743
Other 3,673,181
Road transport 630,724

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) 6,737,128 6,525,586 -211,542
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 6,048,578 5,067,874 -980,704
Air transport 3,056,076 2,980,667 -75,409
Other 2,371,698 1,301,483 -1,070,215
Road transport 381,764 248,960 -132,804

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 7,009,313
Dover 3,776,520
000 3,673,181
ZLC 2,977,355
Southampton 2,956,749

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 4,194,061 2,815,252 -1,378,809
Dover 2,303,641 1,472,879 -830,762
000 2,371,698 1,301,483 -1,070,215
ZLC 1,679,807 1,297,548 -382,259
Southampton 1,132,737 1,824,012 +691,275
Liverpool John Lennon Airport - Speke 915,975 937,655 +21,680
London Heathrow Airport 678,424 1,173,711 +495,287
Eurotunnel 572,630 933,229 +360,599
Grangemouth Docks 646,487 581,219 -65,268
Immingham Docks 466,938 729,163 +262,225

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 216
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 209
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 43
Other manufacturing 31
Manufacture of paper and paper products 25

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 73
2025-11 95
2025-10 106
2025-09 79
2025-08 81

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
1m-15m 243
54m+ 172
0-1m 130
15m-54m 71
Other 43

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 £
Ireland 1,850,519
France 1,782,004
Netherlands 724,382
Belgium 556,538
Germany 442,951

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 £
Ireland 898,834 951,685 +52,851
France 1,058,810 723,194 -335,616
Netherlands 360,981 363,401 +2,420
Belgium 449,448 107,090 -342,358
Germany 354,708 88,243 -266,465
United States 181,215 110,655 -70,560
Italy 121,160 21,672 -99,488
Norway 75,456 29,394 -46,062
Saudi Arabia 7,666 76,199 +68,533
United Arab Emirates 55,263 20,401 -34,862

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 £
Ireland 3,732
China 1,838
Belgium 231
Sri Lanka 100
Italy 51

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 £
Ireland 2,173 1,559 -614
China 1,508 330 -1,178
Belgium 93 138 +45
Sri Lanka 99 1 -98
Italy 48 3 -45
Netherlands 26 2 -24
India 0 18 +18
XI 0 3 +3
United States 0 1 +1

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) 5,330,181
Air transport 837,418
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 715,530
Other 48,514

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) 3,003,809 2,326,372 -677,437
Air transport 476,435 360,983 -115,452
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 593,435 122,095 -471,340
Other 44,456 4,058 -40,398

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 2,535,689
Holyhead 784,934
Liverpool Docks 783,632
East Midlands Airport 459,312
Immingham Docks 432,208

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 1,598,665 937,024 -661,641
Holyhead 261,188 523,746 +262,558
Liverpool Docks 462,488 321,144 -141,344
East Midlands Airport 299,413 159,899 -139,514
Immingham Docks 329,137 103,071 -226,066
Portsmouth 104,483 198,060 +93,577
Felixstowe 262,913 25,096 -237,817
London Heathrow Airport 67,594 139,593 +71,999
Heysham 76,120 95,582 +19,462
Dover 135,359 31,277 -104,082

Quick facts

HS code: 481960

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

Description: Paper-based office supplies like box files, letter trays, and storage boxes