Import/export HS code 731512: Various types of iron or steel chains

Chains made of iron or steel, excluding roller chains, used in various industrial and mechanical applications

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 13,849,521
Germany 10,902,693
Italy 4,760,970
Viet Nam 4,326,449
Japan 3,316,445

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 7,962,254 5,887,267 -2,074,987
Germany 5,609,874 5,292,819 -317,055
Italy 2,577,807 2,183,163 -394,644
Viet Nam 2,544,603 1,781,846 -762,757
Japan 1,522,522 1,793,923 +271,401
France 959,020 1,043,664 +84,644
United States 762,478 381,224 -381,254
Finland 523,156 466,138 -57,018
Netherlands 244,825 276,645 +31,820
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 307,673 179,515 -128,158

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 14,880,119
Germany 6,522,295
Italy 4,943,010
Viet Nam 4,306,630
Romania 3,940,531

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 8,669,001 6,211,118 -2,457,883
Germany 3,304,854 3,217,441 -87,413
Italy 2,542,669 2,400,341 -142,328
Viet Nam 2,517,354 1,789,276 -728,078
Romania 2,135,388 1,805,143 -330,245
Japan 1,613,711 2,054,353 +440,642
France 810,186 463,180 -347,006
United States 751,460 356,541 -394,919
Finland 526,562 436,891 -89,671
Denmark 327,777 39,952 -287,825

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 25
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 18
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 17
West Yorkshire 17
Inner London - West 16

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
West Midlands 21 15 -6
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 16 13 -3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 16 9 -7
West Yorkshire 9 11 +2
Inner London - West 11 9 -2
Greater Manchester 11 7 -4
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7 8 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 7 8 +1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 9 8 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 7 9 +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) 23,263,415
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 9,821,408
Air transport 7,826,123
Rail transport 3,569,725
Other 249,062

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) 12,806,393 10,457,022 -2,349,371
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,345,274 4,476,134 -869,140
Air transport 4,033,002 3,793,121 -239,881
Rail transport 2,050,710 1,519,015 -531,695
Other 176,899 72,163 -104,736
Road transport 11,321 9,813 -1,508

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 12,099,901
Southampton 5,851,741
Birmingham Airport 5,175,395
Dover 3,807,960
NGO 3,568,091

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 7,510,432 4,589,469 -2,920,963
Southampton 3,278,836 2,572,905 -705,931
Birmingham Airport 2,547,225 2,628,170 +80,945
Dover 2,205,525 1,602,435 -603,090
NGO 2,050,710 1,517,381 -533,329
London Gateway Port 1,141,298 1,934,525 +793,227
Immingham Docks 1,246,218 1,249,511 +3,293
Eurotunnel 1,013,453 1,103,460 +90,007
London 427,600 842,189 +414,589
London Heathrow Airport 557,982 384,038 -173,944

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
60
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
40
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment
27
Repair and installation of machinery and equipment
20
Other manufacturing
17

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 53
2026-04 64
2026-03 64
2026-02 51
2026-01 48

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+ 140
1m-15m 93
15m-54m 32
Other 21
0-1m 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 £
Italy 3,908,781
United States 2,849,295
Ireland 2,302,550
Germany 2,200,995
Spain 2,165,541

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 £
Italy 1,838,899 2,069,882 +230,983
United States 1,659,988 1,189,307 -470,681
Ireland 1,186,314 1,116,236 -70,078
Germany 852,999 1,347,996 +494,997
Spain 1,308,553 856,988 -451,565
France 998,479 790,409 -208,070
Netherlands 550,467 591,406 +40,939
Mexico 390,549 713,623 +323,074
Philippines 315,797 770,077 +454,280
South Korea 680,966 353,363 -327,603

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 £
China 7,992
XI 929
Germany 861
Ireland 816
Romania 553

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 £
China 5,338 2,654 -2,684
XI 214 715 +501
Germany 402 459 +57
Ireland 114 702 +588
Romania 169 384 +215
Italy 0 287 +287

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) 16,693,708
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,458,517
Air transport 4,271,398
Other 15,902
Road transport 2,002

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) 8,462,248 8,231,460 -230,788
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,209,382 5,249,135 -960,247
Air transport 2,599,198 1,672,200 -926,998
Other 7,930 7,972 +42
Road transport 2,002 0 -2,002

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 12,895,777
London Gateway Port 5,028,350
Southampton 3,066,244
London Heathrow Airport 1,730,194
Holyhead 1,644,654

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 6,588,005 6,307,772 -280,233
London Gateway Port 3,289,598 1,738,752 -1,550,846
Southampton 714,247 2,351,997 +1,637,750
London Heathrow Airport 915,288 814,906 -100,382
Holyhead 766,505 878,149 +111,644
Manchester Airport 1,068,858 397,834 -671,024
Liverpool Docks 980,766 269,667 -711,099
Felixstowe 688,935 557,195 -131,740
Dover 397,306 494,982 +97,676
East Midlands Airport 454,511 233,961 -220,550

Quick facts

HS code: 731512

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

Description: Chains made of iron or steel, excluding roller chains, used in various industrial and mechanical applications