Import/export HS code 731450: Expanded metal made of iron or steel

Metal sheets cut and stretched to form a mesh, used for fencing, construction, or industrial purposes

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 £
Italy 8,525,194
China 1,114,544
Switzerland 832,135
France 754,807
United States 676,145

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 £
Italy 4,755,088 3,770,106 -984,982
China 746,542 368,002 -378,540
Switzerland 700,822 131,313 -569,509
France 561,706 193,101 -368,605
United States 527,026 149,119 -377,907
Spain 5,352 375,444 +370,092
Ireland 94,679 61,934 -32,745
Germany 45,865 70,921 +25,056
Netherlands 43,060 38,400 -4,660
Norway 66,721 0 -66,721

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 £
Italy 9,187,501
China 1,102,370
United States 676,145
Switzerland 598,515
Spain 403,238

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 £
Italy 5,133,577 4,053,924 -1,079,653
China 722,830 379,540 -343,290
United States 527,026 149,119 -377,907
Switzerland 572,858 25,657 -547,201
Spain 30,114 373,124 +343,010
France 247,098 48,570 -198,528
Germany 159,874 56,913 -102,961
Belgium 52,823 4,883 -47,940
Czechia 38,993 2,819 -36,174
Ireland 24,955 10,170 -14,785

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 6
Inner London - West 6
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 5

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
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6 4 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 4 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 4 3 -1
Inner London - West 5 2 -3
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 2 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4 2 -2
Lancashire 5 3 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 5 +3
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 5 2 -3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 4 +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) 9,855,946
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,551,863
Air transport 1,131,207
Road transport 167,690
Other 139,306

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) 5,589,464 4,266,482 -1,322,982
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,121,002 430,861 -690,141
Air transport 673,556 457,651 -215,905
Road transport 167,690 0 -167,690
Other 80,125 59,181 -20,944

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Purfleet 3,902,176
Dover 1,585,176
Killingholme 1,359,644
London 1,134,582
Eurotunnel 1,000,558

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 £
Purfleet 2,185,644 1,716,532 -469,112
Dover 948,790 636,386 -312,404
Killingholme 787,023 572,621 -214,402
London 678,550 456,032 -222,518
Eurotunnel 342,977 657,581 +314,604
Southampton 619,066 292,533 -326,533
Felixstowe 394,290 50,880 -343,410
Dover / Eurotunnel 359,078 15,013 -344,065
East Midlands Airport 156,226 149,955 -6,271
Birmingham Airport 155,209 104,531 -50,678

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 16
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 15
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 10
Other manufacturing 10
Specialised construction activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 15
2025-11 14
2025-10 21
2025-09 13
2025-08 12

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 38
54m+ 37
0-1m 12
15m-54m 10
Other 6

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 £
Kuwait 7,266,389
Czechia 4,573,438
Ireland 4,243,812
Germany 4,174,230
France 2,049,590

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 £
Kuwait 4,592,715 2,673,674 -1,919,041
Czechia 2,685,399 1,888,039 -797,360
Ireland 2,311,252 1,932,560 -378,692
Germany 2,366,197 1,808,033 -558,164
France 1,382,277 667,313 -714,964
United States 594,735 213,927 -380,808
Denmark 353,286 299,286 -54,000
Finland 321,224 288,851 -32,373
Poland 309,820 174,648 -135,172
Israel 190,000 199,872 +9,872

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 8,493
XI 4,199
United States 788

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 4,898 3,595 -1,303
XI 3,055 1,144 -1,911
United States 0 788 +788

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) 16,629,563
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 10,268,330
Other 434,285
Air transport 253,170

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) 9,600,531 7,029,032 -2,571,499
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,286,753 3,981,577 -2,305,176
Other 251,218 183,067 -68,151
Air transport 107,308 145,862 +38,554

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 9,804,459
London Gateway Port 4,592,895
Avonmouth Docks 3,586,340
Holyhead 2,254,485
Tyne 1,975,898

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 5,620,511 4,183,948 -1,436,563
London Gateway Port 1,724,067 2,868,828 +1,144,761
Avonmouth Docks 3,170,114 416,226 -2,753,888
Holyhead 1,140,341 1,114,144 -26,197
Tyne 1,295,852 680,046 -615,806
Immingham Docks 540,148 465,706 -74,442
Southampton 626,565 232,195 -394,370
Heysham 322,119 334,193 +12,074
Fishguard 300,821 215,113 -85,708
Liverpool Docks 351,101 104,518 -246,583

Quick facts

HS code: 731450

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

Description: Metal sheets cut and stretched to form a mesh, used for fencing, construction, or industrial purposes