Import/export HS code 4906: Architectural and engineering plans

Original hand-drawn plans, blueprints, and designs for buildings, machinery, or maps. Includes handwritten notes and photocopies

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 £
United States 2,678,323
France 1,829,110
Germany 1,282,850
Sweden 120,414
Ireland 81,551

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 £
United States 1,177,284 1,501,039 +323,755
France 55,600 1,773,510 +1,717,910
Germany 1,139,137 143,713 -995,424
Sweden 74,050 46,364 -27,686
Ireland 65,648 15,903 -49,745
Australia 49,652 0 -49,652
Spain 37,777 8,810 -28,967
Italy 18,519 21,312 +2,793
Japan 13,568 17,798 +4,230
Austria 17,299 13,785 -3,514

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 £
United States 2,557,787
France 1,821,842
Germany 1,137,270
Italy 178,874
United Kingdom 149,240

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 £
United States 1,187,896 1,369,891 +181,995
France 48,332 1,773,510 +1,725,178
Germany 992,799 144,471 -848,328
Italy 129,622 49,252 -80,370
United Kingdom 12,043 137,197 +125,154
Czechia 86,860 6,512 -80,348
Spain 36,878 27,602 -9,276
Ireland 50,522 0 -50,522
Australia 49,652 0 -49,652
Austria 18,853 20,297 +1,444

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 10
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6
Inner London - East 4
Greater Manchester 3
Lancashire 3

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 6 5 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 2 -2
Inner London - East 2 2 +0
Greater Manchester 0 3 +3
Lancashire 3 0 -3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 1 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1 1 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 1 +0
Devon 1 1 +0
Essex 0 2 +2

Import volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 5,429,548
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 682,424
Other 125,222
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 43,465

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 £
Air transport 2,055,664 3,373,884 +1,318,220
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 614,470 67,954 -546,516
Other 222 125,000 +124,778
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,001 32,464 +21,463

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 4,732,794
Dover 582,676
Glasgow Airport 231,640
East Midlands Airport 229,140
London Stansted Airport 196,639

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 £
London Heathrow Airport 1,601,864 3,130,930 +1,529,066
Dover 529,869 52,807 -477,062
Glasgow Airport 228,914 2,726 -226,188
East Midlands Airport 151,722 77,418 -74,304
London Stansted Airport 60,581 136,058 +75,477
000 222 125,000 +124,778
Dover / Eurotunnel 60,413 16,280 -44,133
Birmingham Airport 6,746 20,141 +13,395
Eurotunnel 9,955 5,244 -4,711
London 11,467 1,675 -9,792

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 10
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products 5
Manufacture of other transport equipment 5
Other manufacturing 5
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 2
2025-10 1
2025-09 3
2025-08 4
2025-07 3

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+ 33
15m-54m 9
1m-15m 9
Other 4
0-1m 1

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 8,582,631
United Arab Emirates 1,478,666
India 932,559
Switzerland 542,443
New Zealand 374,241

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 607,569 7,975,062 +7,367,493
United Arab Emirates 1,477,602 1,064 -1,476,538
India 928,059 4,500 -923,559
Switzerland 537,772 4,671 -533,101
New Zealand 372,241 2,000 -370,241
France 118,900 221,165 +102,265
Netherlands 11,728 315,032 +303,304
Germany 241,250 64,591 -176,659
South Korea 252,000 1,728 -250,272
Jordan 243,028 0 -243,028

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 £
XI 255

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 £
XI 254 1 -253

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 13,502,802
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 949,646
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 412,324
Other 255

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 4,720,752 8,782,050 +4,061,298
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 334,866 614,780 +279,914
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 398,095 14,229 -383,866
Other 254 1 -253

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 10,575,891
London Stansted Airport 1,785,286
East Midlands Airport 835,996
Dover / Eurotunnel 683,069
Felixstowe 375,594

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 £
London Heathrow Airport 2,650,949 7,924,942 +5,273,993
London Stansted Airport 1,469,237 316,049 -1,153,188
East Midlands Airport 355,535 480,461 +124,926
Dover / Eurotunnel 276,994 406,075 +129,081
Felixstowe 375,594 0 -375,594
Manchester Airport 177,402 2,752 -174,650
Harwich 0 163,800 +163,800
ZLC 59,579 54,896 -4,683
Dover 43,597 14,598 -28,999
London Gateway Port 20,281 8,773 -11,508

Quick facts

HS code: 4906

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

Description: Original hand-drawn plans, blueprints, and designs for buildings, machinery, or maps. Includes handwritten notes and photocopies