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 9,916,938
China 1,340,885
Switzerland 919,003
France 709,575
United States 645,550

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 4,600,261 5,316,677 +716,416
China 696,233 644,652 -51,581
Switzerland 707,164 211,839 -495,325
France 445,495 264,080 -181,415
United States 428,168 217,382 -210,786
Spain 11,512 370,237 +358,725
Ireland 102,698 72,261 -30,437
Germany 55,600 74,189 +18,589
Netherlands 30,580 58,150 +27,570
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 10,597,822
China 1,349,630
Switzerland 685,383
United States 645,550
Spain 383,451

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 4,983,049 5,614,773 +631,724
China 674,600 675,030 +430
Switzerland 579,200 106,183 -473,017
United States 428,168 217,382 -210,786
Spain 15,534 367,917 +352,383
France 187,293 86,800 -100,493
Germany 152,843 68,468 -84,375
Belgium 37,819 24,633 -13,186
Ireland 30,440 6,768 -23,672
Austria 18,389 17,739 -650

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 8
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 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 5 4 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6 5 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 7 +5
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 4 +0
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 5 3 -2
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 3 +0
Lancashire 5 2 -3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 3 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 1 -3
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 11,235,919
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,754,816
Air transport 1,229,326
Road transport 173,965
Other 159,439

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) 5,307,712 5,928,207 +620,495
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 880,584 874,232 -6,352
Air transport 776,951 452,375 -324,576
Road transport 167,690 6,275 -161,415
Other 91,516 67,923 -23,593

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Purfleet 4,407,457
Dover 1,798,721
Killingholme 1,426,195
London 1,408,674
Eurotunnel 1,158,177

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 1,888,117 2,519,340 +631,223
Dover 881,956 916,765 +34,809
Killingholme 750,241 675,954 -74,287
London 748,239 660,435 -87,804
Eurotunnel 410,597 747,580 +336,983
Southampton 495,089 558,415 +63,326
Felixstowe 298,768 223,605 -75,163
Dover / Eurotunnel 325,608 35,777 -289,831
East Midlands Airport 198,519 123,091 -75,428
Birmingham Airport 164,960 114,867 -50,093

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 13
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 10
Other manufacturing 10
Specialised construction activities 8

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 21
2026-04 17
2026-03 18
2026-02 19
2026-01 15

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 41
54m+ 35
0-1m 11
15m-54m 9
Other 9

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 7,316,221
Czechia 5,011,628
Ireland 4,992,125
Germany 4,048,833
France 2,292,826

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 4,454,974 2,861,247 -1,593,727
Czechia 2,595,608 2,416,020 -179,588
Ireland 2,327,847 2,664,278 +336,431
Germany 2,370,759 1,678,074 -692,685
France 1,167,057 1,125,769 -41,288
United States 510,589 401,561 -109,028
Denmark 369,635 385,294 +15,659
Finland 344,677 364,835 +20,158
Poland 312,747 271,878 -40,869
Israel 194,105 272,900 +78,795

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 £
United States 51,724
Ireland 10,125
XI 3,946

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 £
United States 0 51,724 +51,724
Ireland 4,757 5,368 +611
XI 2,805 1,141 -1,664

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) 18,183,641
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 10,624,145
Other 525,886
Air transport 312,619

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) 9,309,875 8,873,766 -436,109
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,039,533 4,584,612 -1,454,921
Other 255,387 270,499 +15,112
Air transport 102,273 210,346 +108,073

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 10,461,272
London Gateway Port 5,624,161
Holyhead 2,684,879
Avonmouth Docks 2,662,164
Tyne 1,974,648

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 5,514,351 4,946,921 -567,430
London Gateway Port 2,506,691 3,117,470 +610,779
Holyhead 1,143,067 1,541,812 +398,745
Avonmouth Docks 2,203,709 458,455 -1,745,254
Tyne 1,073,552 901,096 -172,456
Immingham Docks 580,618 516,805 -63,813
Southampton 634,397 315,156 -319,241
Heysham 372,948 443,421 +70,473
000 255,387 270,499 +15,112
Fishguard 276,539 233,097 -43,442

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