Import/export HS code 8304: Metal office supplies like filing cabinets, paper trays, and pen holders

Includes items such as filing cabinets, card-index cabinets, paper trays, and desk organizers made of metal, but not office furniture

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 11,099,561
Sweden 666,432
Spain 497,522
France 372,136
Netherlands 332,731

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 5,222,915 5,876,646 +653,731
Sweden 277,774 388,658 +110,884
Spain 177,487 320,035 +142,548
France 222,412 149,724 -72,688
Netherlands 113,966 218,765 +104,799
United States 133,481 195,315 +61,834
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 194,819 41,478 -153,341
Taiwan 92,294 130,937 +38,643
Germany 131,539 90,571 -40,968
Italy 109,792 92,332 -17,460

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 12,216,653
Sweden 653,619
Spain 486,062
United States 278,990
Taiwan 213,257

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 5,844,271 6,372,382 +528,111
Sweden 269,134 384,485 +115,351
Spain 168,462 317,600 +149,138
United States 99,749 179,241 +79,492
Taiwan 85,093 128,164 +43,071
India 51,114 62,330 +11,216
United Kingdom 57,259 54,940 -2,319
Finland 84,254 21,612 -62,642
Italy 60,487 36,776 -23,711
France 63,734 20,436 -43,298

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 34
Greater Manchester 15
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 13
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 12
Inner London - East 11

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 18 23 +5
Greater Manchester 10 10 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 10 9 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8 6 -2
Inner London - East 6 5 -1
West Yorkshire 6 8 +2
Outer London - West and North West 5 5 +0
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 6 4 -2
Essex 6 2 -4
Surrey, East and West Sussex 3 5 +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) 9,340,086
Air transport 3,311,479
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,078,823
Other 399,338

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) 4,473,687 4,866,399 +392,712
Air transport 1,631,320 1,680,159 +48,839
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 836,741 1,242,082 +405,341
Other 258,990 140,348 -118,642

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 6,043,668
Southampton 1,492,237
Birmingham Airport 1,163,815
London Gateway Port 1,104,653
London Heathrow Airport 1,083,131

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 2,869,226 3,174,442 +305,216
Southampton 853,939 638,298 -215,641
Birmingham Airport 521,053 642,762 +121,709
London Gateway Port 289,096 815,557 +526,461
London Heathrow Airport 659,207 423,924 -235,283
Dover 457,987 610,809 +152,822
000 258,990 140,348 -118,642
499 16,258 373,686 +357,428
London 262,006 46,186 -215,820
London Stansted Airport 105,541 199,941 +94,400

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 82
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 78
Other manufacturing 11
Manufacture of furniture 8
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 6

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 22
2026-03 28
2026-02 27
2026-01 26
2025-12 26

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 86
54m+ 59
0-1m 29
15m-54m 27
Other 27

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 Arab Emirates 1,587,890
United States 1,165,908
France 977,525
Canada 893,545
Ireland 800,013

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 Arab Emirates 993,144 594,746 -398,398
United States 388,402 777,506 +389,104
France 813,550 163,975 -649,575
Canada 408,220 485,325 +77,105
Ireland 455,510 344,503 -111,007
Iceland 730,125 1,742 -728,383
China 104,009 151,850 +47,841
South Africa 40,375 209,733 +169,358
Germany 136,056 69,824 -66,232
Spain 167,705 28,430 -139,275

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 78,995
China 2,179
Taiwan 376
Lithuania 373

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 1,877 77,118 +75,241
China 93 2,086 +1,993
Taiwan 202 174 -28
Lithuania 0 373 +373

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) 3,982,960
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,831,878
Air transport 2,660,422
Other 85,821

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) 2,468,359 1,514,601 -953,758
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,871,380 960,498 -910,882
Air transport 1,475,917 1,184,505 -291,412
Other 2,332 83,489 +81,157

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Gateway Port 1,957,922
London Heathrow Airport 1,918,494
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,890,003
Southampton 819,405
Middlesbrough 731,185

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 £
London Gateway Port 1,105,849 852,073 -253,776
London Heathrow Airport 948,849 969,645 +20,796
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,332,701 557,302 -775,399
Southampton 286,211 533,194 +246,983
Middlesbrough 730,125 1,060 -729,065
Holyhead 259,133 173,880 -85,253
Felixstowe 291,392 102,982 -188,410
East Midlands Airport 187,759 91,047 -96,712
Liverpool Docks 128,209 63,098 -65,111
Manchester Airport 160,185 19,643 -140,542

Quick facts

HS code: 8304

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

Description: Includes items such as filing cabinets, card-index cabinets, paper trays, and desk organizers made of metal, but not office furniture