Import/export HS code 48201010: Business record books

Includes registers, account books, order books, and receipt books for keeping track of business transactions

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 £
Malaysia 3,273,821
Japan 2,999,996
China 1,123,221
India 539,771
Germany 510,632

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 £
Malaysia 1,703,473 1,570,348 -133,125
Japan 110,709 2,889,287 +2,778,578
China 563,493 559,728 -3,765
India 219,493 320,278 +100,785
Germany 361,602 149,030 -212,572
Netherlands 89,627 104,786 +15,159
United States 124,397 46,785 -77,612
Turkey 113,327 3,399 -109,928
Ireland 61,307 18,086 -43,221
France 39,768 7,083 -32,685

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 £
Malaysia 2,538,818
China 1,978,314
Thailand 1,544,190
Japan 1,412,854
India 566,478

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 £
Malaysia 950,862 1,587,956 +637,094
China 1,371,586 606,728 -764,858
Thailand 2,990 1,541,200 +1,538,210
Japan 119,967 1,292,887 +1,172,920
India 219,276 347,202 +127,926
Germany 375,097 163,716 -211,381
Netherlands 69,000 93,270 +24,270
United States 107,169 31,297 -75,872
Turkey 113,327 3,399 -109,928
Italy 18,729 5,508 -13,221

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 23
Greater Manchester 8
Outer London - West and North West 8
Surrey, East and West Sussex 7
Inner London - East 6

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 18 8 -10
Greater Manchester 5 3 -2
Outer London - West and North West 7 1 -6
Surrey, East and West Sussex 5 3 -2
Inner London - East 4 4 +0
West Yorkshire 2 5 +3
West Midlands 2 3 +1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 1 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 0 -3
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3 2 -1

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) 5,031,976
Air transport 3,416,940
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 651,838
Other 65,236
Road transport 11,377

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) 2,539,826 2,492,150 -47,676
Air transport 383,127 3,033,813 +2,650,686
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 482,959 168,879 -314,080
Other 49,920 15,316 -34,604
Road transport 11,377 0 -11,377

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 4,181,189
Leeds Bradford Airport 2,855,760
Felixstowe 990,444
London Heathrow Airport 234,495
Thamesport 141,403

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 £
Southampton 2,089,554 2,091,635 +2,081
Leeds Bradford Airport 0 2,855,760 +2,855,760
Felixstowe 647,481 342,963 -304,518
London Heathrow Airport 173,392 61,103 -112,289
Thamesport 62,463 78,940 +16,477
London Stansted Airport 69,562 71,408 +1,846
Harwich 41,573 54,349 +12,776
London Gateway Port 20,360 55,847 +35,487
000 49,920 15,316 -34,604
Birmingham Airport 35,713 21,009 -14,704

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 41
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 39
Manufacture of paper and paper products 4
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 3
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 3

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 9
2025-11 8
2025-10 13
2025-09 11
2025-08 10

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+ 35
1m-15m 31
0-1m 21
Other 14
15m-54m 7

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 £
South Africa 400,275
United States 329,004
Ireland 199,961
Malaysia 158,639
Italy 146,557

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 £
South Africa 8,024 392,251 +384,227
United States 276,226 52,778 -223,448
Ireland 128,034 71,927 -56,107
Malaysia 158,639 0 -158,639
Italy 65,944 80,613 +14,669
France 58,292 50,221 -8,071
Germany 78,879 22,358 -56,521
Canada 31,966 53,490 +21,524
Switzerland 56,248 24,774 -31,474
Qatar 62,548 14,421 -48,127

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 14,774
China 2,435
India 2,385
XI 2,016
Malaysia 560

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 9,994 4,780 -5,214
China 1,163 1,272 +109
India 0 2,385 +2,385
XI 1,066 950 -116
Malaysia 342 218 -124

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 1,548,859
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 397,182
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 326,891
Other 46,291

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 734,203 814,656 +80,453
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 325,908 71,274 -254,634
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 226,531 100,360 -126,171
Other 26,487 19,804 -6,683

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 1,032,874
London Heathrow Airport 370,030
Southampton 228,173
Dover / Eurotunnel 212,599
London Gateway Port 82,113

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 474,137 558,737 +84,600
London Heathrow Airport 171,350 198,680 +27,330
Southampton 207,684 20,489 -187,195
Dover / Eurotunnel 152,558 60,041 -92,517
London Gateway Port 45,743 36,370 -9,373
ZLC 38,767 41,364 +2,597
Liverpool Docks 61,339 5,070 -56,269
Holyhead 26,324 20,450 -5,874
000 26,487 19,804 -6,683
London Stansted Airport 27,379 14,923 -12,456

Quick facts

HS code: 48201010

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

Description: Includes registers, account books, order books, and receipt books for keeping track of business transactions