Import/export HS code 8203: Hand tools like files, pliers, and shears
Common hand tools including files, rasps, pliers, tweezers, metal-cutting shears, and pipe-cutters
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 | 47,333,663 |
| Germany | 28,234,493 |
| United States | 23,602,695 |
| France | 14,263,494 |
| Netherlands | 9,654,471 |
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 | 25,389,488 | 21,944,175 | -3,445,313 |
| Germany | 14,947,348 | 13,287,145 | -1,660,203 |
| United States | 14,025,336 | 9,577,359 | -4,447,977 |
| France | 7,998,635 | 6,264,859 | -1,733,776 |
| Netherlands | 4,725,478 | 4,928,993 | +203,515 |
| Taiwan | 5,214,797 | 4,088,003 | -1,126,794 |
| Switzerland | 1,451,264 | 1,283,242 | -168,022 |
| Belgium | 1,581,830 | 1,003,055 | -578,775 |
| Japan | 1,219,474 | 1,305,962 | +86,488 |
| Italy | 1,169,049 | 896,254 | -272,795 |
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 | 56,758,047 |
| Germany | 27,309,159 |
| United States | 20,503,308 |
| Taiwan | 11,690,513 |
| Switzerland | 7,565,176 |
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 | 30,222,779 | 26,535,268 | -3,687,511 |
| Germany | 15,106,826 | 12,202,333 | -2,904,493 |
| United States | 12,071,521 | 8,431,787 | -3,639,734 |
| Taiwan | 6,622,599 | 5,067,914 | -1,554,685 |
| Switzerland | 3,606,523 | 3,958,653 | +352,130 |
| India | 2,481,229 | 2,014,677 | -466,552 |
| France | 2,380,943 | 1,805,841 | -575,102 |
| Sweden | 2,085,705 | 1,886,656 | -199,049 |
| Spain | 1,991,217 | 1,505,736 | -485,481 |
| Japan | 1,601,938 | 1,727,750 | +125,812 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Inner London - West | 81 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 79 |
| West Midlands | 70 |
| Greater Manchester | 64 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 61 |
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 | 58 | 51 | -7 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 63 | 59 | -4 |
| West Midlands | 52 | 47 | -5 |
| Greater Manchester | 44 | 43 | -1 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 51 | 39 | -12 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 47 | 34 | -13 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 41 | 34 | -7 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 42 | 37 | -5 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 42 | 39 | -3 |
| Inner London - East | 38 | 27 | -11 |
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) | 68,028,100 |
| Air transport | 48,553,490 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 36,051,575 |
| Other | 2,340,706 |
| Road transport | 326,696 |
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) | 37,869,449 | 30,158,651 | -7,710,798 |
| Air transport | 25,924,107 | 22,629,383 | -3,294,724 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 19,289,308 | 16,762,267 | -2,527,041 |
| Other | 1,448,935 | 891,771 | -557,164 |
| Road transport | 190,300 | 136,396 | -53,904 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Felixstowe | 29,528,539 |
| Southampton | 22,007,111 |
| Birmingham Airport | 16,166,032 |
| Dover | 13,450,550 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 10,689,765 |
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 | 17,680,011 | 11,848,528 | -5,831,483 |
| Southampton | 13,208,255 | 8,798,856 | -4,409,399 |
| Birmingham Airport | 7,484,135 | 8,681,897 | +1,197,762 |
| Dover | 6,386,975 | 7,063,575 | +676,600 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 6,545,094 | 4,144,671 | -2,400,423 |
| East Midlands Airport | 4,085,014 | 3,931,753 | -153,261 |
| London Gateway Port | 2,245,795 | 5,449,960 | +3,204,165 |
| London | 3,690,209 | 2,551,993 | -1,138,216 |
| Eurotunnel | 3,017,335 | 2,517,762 | -499,573 |
| London Stansted Airport | 3,029,110 | 2,299,755 | -729,355 |
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 | 490 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 255 |
| Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment | 78 |
| Other manufacturing | 76 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 59 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 255 |
| 2025-11 | 252 |
| 2025-10 | 290 |
| 2025-09 | 234 |
| 2025-08 | 258 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| DRAPER TOOLS LIMITED | 120 |
| GLENAIR UK LIMITED | 120 |
| JACK SEALEY LIMITED | 120 |
| SNAP-ON U.K. HOLDINGS LIMITED | 120 |
| TWEEZERMAN UK LTD | 120 |
| CARL KAMMERLING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | 119 |
| IDEAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED | 119 |
| ROLSON TOOLS LIMITED | 119 |
| THE TOOL CONNECTION LIMITED | 119 |
| TOOLBANK LIMITED | 118 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 520 |
| 54m+ | 398 |
| 15m-54m | 167 |
| 0-1m | 147 |
| Other | 110 |
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 | 9,058,825 |
| Germany | 5,965,134 |
| France | 5,108,448 |
| Ireland | 3,803,278 |
| Netherlands | 3,095,321 |
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 | 4,559,761 | 4,499,064 | -60,697 |
| Germany | 3,035,069 | 2,930,065 | -105,004 |
| France | 2,669,800 | 2,438,648 | -231,152 |
| Ireland | 2,122,215 | 1,681,063 | -441,152 |
| Netherlands | 1,825,645 | 1,269,676 | -555,969 |
| Belgium | 1,034,482 | 845,416 | -189,066 |
| Australia | 1,233,321 | 635,153 | -598,168 |
| Italy | 824,728 | 343,274 | -481,454 |
| India | 703,350 | 430,659 | -272,691 |
| China | 540,554 | 559,265 | +18,711 |
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 | 337,211 |
| Taiwan | 55,929 |
| XI | 37,886 |
| Germany | 30,717 |
| Austria | 30,514 |
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 | 177,412 | 159,799 | -17,613 |
| Taiwan | 30,711 | 25,218 | -5,493 |
| XI | 23,135 | 14,751 | -8,384 |
| Germany | 25,116 | 5,601 | -19,515 |
| Austria | 30,251 | 263 | -29,988 |
| Ireland | 9,518 | 12,442 | +2,924 |
| United States | 10,531 | 7,584 | -2,947 |
| India | 8,145 | 2,077 | -6,068 |
| Italy | 2,011 | 7,138 | +5,127 |
| Sweden | 3,646 | 3,311 | -335 |
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 | 19,048,998 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 17,866,338 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 10,269,451 |
| Other | 793,536 |
| Road transport | 121,068 |
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 | 9,978,263 | 9,070,735 | -907,528 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 9,828,296 | 8,038,042 | -1,790,254 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 6,573,384 | 3,696,067 | -2,877,317 |
| Other | 440,527 | 353,009 | -87,518 |
| Road transport | 119,962 | 1,106 | -118,856 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| East Midlands Airport | 8,348,526 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 8,341,767 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 5,557,504 |
| London Gateway Port | 4,282,772 |
| Dover | 3,571,870 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands Airport | 4,412,756 | 3,935,770 | -476,986 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 4,632,913 | 3,708,854 | -924,059 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 2,659,574 | 2,897,930 | +238,356 |
| London Gateway Port | 3,042,239 | 1,240,533 | -1,801,706 |
| Dover | 2,278,077 | 1,293,793 | -984,284 |
| Immingham Docks | 1,452,747 | 1,126,647 | -326,100 |
| Liverpool Docks | 1,928,048 | 597,229 | -1,330,819 |
| ZLC | 1,368,728 | 1,078,324 | -290,404 |
| Southampton | 661,415 | 1,277,932 | +616,517 |
| Holyhead | 914,563 | 865,337 | -49,226 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
Quick facts
HS code: 8203
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Common hand tools including files, rasps, pliers, tweezers, metal-cutting shears, and pipe-cutters