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 9,678,599
Sweden 586,722
France 367,912
Spain 363,569
United States 292,249

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 5,271,541 4,407,058 -864,483
Sweden 274,380 312,342 +37,962
France 227,602 140,310 -87,292
Spain 126,399 237,170 +110,771
United States 95,626 196,623 +100,997
Netherlands 88,026 194,629 +106,603
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 184,729 45,617 -139,112
Germany 137,397 67,579 -69,818
Italy 104,419 97,123 -7,296
Taiwan 73,085 108,099 +35,014

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 10,727,521
Sweden 574,110
Spain 351,362
United States 242,460
Taiwan 174,008

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 5,890,228 4,837,293 -1,052,935
Sweden 265,700 308,410 +42,710
Spain 118,859 232,503 +113,644
United States 73,847 168,613 +94,766
Taiwan 65,909 108,099 +42,190
India 51,655 62,671 +11,016
United Kingdom 58,849 54,940 -3,909
Italy 56,910 46,086 -10,824
Finland 67,392 26,169 -41,223
France 63,026 14,854 -48,172

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 30
Greater Manchester 16
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 14
Inner London - East 12
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 10

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 15 21 +6
Greater Manchester 10 10 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 11 9 -2
Inner London - East 7 5 -2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8 5 -3
West Yorkshire 4 8 +4
Essex 6 2 -4
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 4 +0
Outer London - West and North West 6 2 -4
Surrey, East and West Sussex 3 4 +1

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) 8,342,981
Air transport 2,787,781
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,738,923
Other 411,228

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) 4,527,233 3,815,748 -711,485
Air transport 1,536,844 1,250,937 -285,907
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 816,130 922,793 +106,663
Other 235,521 175,707 -59,814

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 5,414,027
Southampton 1,290,193
London Heathrow Airport 1,009,961
Dover 923,276
London Gateway Port 905,559

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 2,853,177 2,560,850 -292,327
Southampton 936,610 353,583 -583,027
London Heathrow Airport 694,542 315,419 -379,123
Dover 446,736 476,540 +29,804
London Gateway Port 225,627 679,932 +454,305
Birmingham Airport 464,479 367,788 -96,691
000 235,521 175,707 -59,814
London 304,176 32,257 -271,919
499 11,981 305,630 +293,649
London Stansted Airport 44,287 230,775 +186,488

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 79
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 70
Manufacture of furniture 8
Other manufacturing 8
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 26
2025-11 30
2025-10 28
2025-09 27
2025-08 34

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 87
54m+ 57
0-1m 25
15m-54m 25
Other 22

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 2,062,790
United States 980,552
France 964,350
Ireland 745,862
Iceland 731,867

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 1,262,281 800,509 -461,772
United States 394,437 586,115 +191,678
France 542,611 421,739 -120,872
Ireland 447,289 298,573 -148,716
Iceland 727,875 3,992 -723,883
Canada 233,641 277,956 +44,315
Germany 193,344 72,846 -120,498
South Africa 39,365 209,668 +170,303
China 104,009 109,683 +5,674
Spain 152,525 35,478 -117,047

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 1,869
Taiwan 441

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 80 1,789 +1,709
Taiwan 275 166 -109

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) 4,346,256
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,655,641
Air transport 2,203,856
Other 81,642

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) 2,697,279 1,648,977 -1,048,302
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,602,322 1,053,319 -549,003
Air transport 1,365,193 838,663 -526,530
Other 2,463 79,179 +76,716

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Gateway Port 2,148,792
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,807,519
London Heathrow Airport 1,352,479
Southampton 962,895
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 1,132,392 1,016,400 -115,992
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,051,192 756,327 -294,865
London Heathrow Airport 735,466 617,013 -118,453
Southampton 474,358 488,537 +14,179
Middlesbrough 727,875 3,310 -724,565
Felixstowe 327,394 98,017 -229,377
Holyhead 257,362 156,255 -101,107
East Midlands Airport 203,628 105,346 -98,282
Manchester Airport 233,646 19,643 -214,003
ZLC 93,424 82,416 -11,008

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