Import/export HS code 7404: Copper waste and scrap

Used or leftover copper materials, such as wires, pipes, and other copper items, ready for recycling

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 £
Ireland 106,557,836
Netherlands 43,457,816
Germany 16,703,872
France 8,375,471
United States 4,580,050

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 £
Ireland 56,750,247 49,807,589 -6,942,658
Netherlands 30,428,618 13,029,198 -17,399,420
Germany 8,960,379 7,743,493 -1,216,886
France 3,529,618 4,845,853 +1,316,235
United States 3,722,245 857,805 -2,864,440
Iceland 1,065,906 889,307 -176,599
Belgium 1,100,034 615,132 -484,902
Italy 891,078 733,888 -157,190
Mexico 925,644 575,446 -350,198
Kenya 512,058 587,514 +75,456

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 £
Ireland 101,692,631
Netherlands 42,651,388
Germany 16,640,891
France 6,914,025
United States 5,248,917

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 £
Ireland 54,279,208 47,413,423 -6,865,785
Netherlands 29,765,916 12,885,472 -16,880,444
Germany 8,994,832 7,646,059 -1,348,773
France 1,924,209 4,989,816 +3,065,607
United States 3,895,199 1,353,718 -2,541,481
Belgium 1,977,355 216,493 -1,760,862
Iceland 1,065,906 889,307 -176,599
United Kingdom 1,004,384 776,774 -227,610
Italy 992,196 733,888 -258,308
Mexico 925,644 272,838 -652,806

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 8
Shropshire and Staffordshire 6
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4
South East Wales 4
West Yorkshire 4

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
Greater Manchester 6 5 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 2 4 +2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 3 +0
South East Wales 2 3 +1
West Yorkshire 2 3 +1
Cheshire 2 2 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 0 -3
Inner London - East 3 2 -1
Outer London - East and North East 2 2 +0
Outer London - West and North West 1 3 +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) 141,432,613
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 46,917,332
Other 4,865,205
Air transport 119,317

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) 82,011,419 59,421,194 -22,590,225
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 27,241,532 19,675,800 -7,565,732
Other 2,471,039 2,394,166 -76,873
Air transport 82,313 37,004 -45,309

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Holyhead 32,436,326
Liverpool Docks 28,143,533
Dover 25,001,341
Hull 24,182,271
Ayr Harbour 20,777,880

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 £
Holyhead 15,378,413 17,057,913 +1,679,500
Liverpool Docks 14,789,804 13,353,729 -1,436,075
Dover 11,867,713 13,133,628 +1,265,915
Hull 17,981,039 6,201,232 -11,779,807
Ayr Harbour 11,692,688 9,085,192 -2,607,496
Eurotunnel 11,744,259 6,063,960 -5,680,299
Heysham 8,509,038 6,606,042 -1,902,996
Felixstowe 5,045,023 1,207,151 -3,837,872
000 2,471,039 2,394,166 -76,873
Immingham Docks 1,908,712 2,015,819 +107,107

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 25
Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery 14
Manufacture of basic metals 13
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 11
2025-11 14
2025-10 14
2025-09 9
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
54m+ 28
1m-15m 18
15m-54m 13
Other 8
0-1m 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 £
China 1,126,843,540
India 264,645,548
Germany 176,117,276
Belgium 175,570,531
Japan 146,578,153

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 £
China 557,131,647 569,711,893 +12,580,246
India 135,531,018 129,114,530 -6,416,488
Germany 89,034,269 87,083,007 -1,951,262
Belgium 98,727,815 76,842,716 -21,885,099
Japan 99,600,629 46,977,524 -52,623,105
South Korea 61,690,929 63,235,839 +1,544,910
Spain 53,814,769 66,327,314 +12,512,545
Greece 52,336,165 35,563,636 -16,772,529
France 31,886,804 25,970,064 -5,916,740
Thailand 27,053,317 14,280,397 -12,772,920

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 2,048,653

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 680,488 1,368,165 +687,677

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,898,068,871
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 652,816,225
Road transport 3,922,669
Other 2,048,653
Air transport 155,689

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 943,955,190 954,113,681 +10,158,491
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 397,655,725 255,160,500 -142,495,225
Road transport 3,791,547 131,122 -3,660,425
Other 680,488 1,368,165 +687,677
Air transport 127,847 27,842 -100,005

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 807,106,294
London Gateway Port 646,011,729
Dover / Eurotunnel 227,975,749
Liverpool Docks 167,966,790
Southampton 137,910,672

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 £
Felixstowe 584,435,043 222,671,251 -361,763,792
London Gateway Port 185,532,262 460,479,467 +274,947,205
Dover / Eurotunnel 126,424,214 101,551,535 -24,872,679
Liverpool Docks 74,047,476 93,919,314 +19,871,838
Southampton 70,559,616 67,351,056 -3,208,560
Immingham Docks 63,460,226 58,112,814 -5,347,412
Greenock 49,110,288 30,925,987 -18,184,301
London 40,092,602 38,100,798 -1,991,804
Tyne 30,055,231 22,887,827 -7,167,404
Dover 23,846,954 23,934,428 +87,474

Quick facts

HS code: 7404

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

Description: Used or leftover copper materials, such as wires, pipes, and other copper items, ready for recycling