Import/export HS code 8440: Bookbinding machines

Machines used to bind books, including sewing, stapling, and folding machines

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 £
Switzerland 11,968,619
Germany 8,297,790
Japan 6,268,519
Italy 2,719,134
Netherlands 2,510,241

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 £
Switzerland 8,471,433 3,497,186 -4,974,247
Germany 4,661,919 3,635,871 -1,026,048
Japan 3,274,383 2,994,136 -280,247
Italy 1,173,226 1,545,908 +372,682
Netherlands 1,108,596 1,401,645 +293,049
Latvia 1,615,651 672,024 -943,627
Slovakia 1,329,730 713,802 -615,928
United States 1,401,869 411,825 -990,044
China 621,824 823,991 +202,167
Canada 743,911 701,406 -42,505

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 £
Switzerland 11,602,226
Japan 8,377,824
Germany 8,169,620
Italy 3,216,412
Latvia 2,418,137

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 £
Switzerland 8,208,152 3,394,074 -4,814,078
Japan 4,194,457 4,183,367 -11,090
Germany 4,614,323 3,555,297 -1,059,026
Italy 1,464,267 1,752,145 +287,878
Latvia 1,448,027 970,110 -477,917
Slovakia 1,348,781 715,287 -633,494
United States 1,591,461 434,190 -1,157,271
China 978,426 1,044,415 +65,989
Canada 714,383 699,763 -14,620
Portugal 497,561 478,889 -18,672

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 16
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 15
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 10
West Yorkshire 10
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 8

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 12 9 -3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 12 9 -3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 5 -1
West Yorkshire 7 8 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 7 +2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 7 4 -3
Cheshire 7 4 -3
Greater Manchester 5 5 +0
Kent 7 3 -4
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 4 +0

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) 19,119,411
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,905,361
Air transport 6,848,696
Road transport 6,736,615
Other 1,413,921

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) 9,683,917 9,435,494 -248,423
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 7,215,045 4,690,316 -2,524,729
Air transport 3,541,860 3,306,836 -235,024
Road transport 5,589,022 1,147,593 -4,441,429
Other 995,726 418,195 -577,531
Rail transport 149,805 6,453 -143,352

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 9,730,952
ZLC 8,537,225
Southampton 4,058,535
London Heathrow Airport 2,556,439
Thamesport 2,451,663

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 £
Dover 4,571,871 5,159,081 +587,210
ZLC 5,960,259 2,576,966 -3,383,293
Southampton 2,180,197 1,878,338 -301,859
London Heathrow Airport 1,227,307 1,329,132 +101,825
Thamesport 1,753,139 698,524 -1,054,615
Felixstowe 1,104,106 1,205,527 +101,421
London Stansted Airport 973,387 857,677 -115,710
Eurotunnel 906,426 887,827 -18,599
Harwich 855,198 779,032 -76,166
Belfast Port 1,493,301 37,973 -1,455,328

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 44
Printing and reproduction of recorded media 35
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 21
Manufacture of paper and paper products 15
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 14

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 25
2025-11 21
2025-10 38
2025-09 34
2025-08 39

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 62
54m+ 57
0-1m 23
15m-54m 18
Other 12

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 12,681,945
Netherlands 3,402,481
India 2,698,461
Germany 2,318,585
Latvia 2,170,982

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 7,454,844 5,227,101 -2,227,743
Netherlands 2,717,832 684,649 -2,033,183
India 1,934,091 764,370 -1,169,721
Germany 1,443,586 874,999 -568,587
Latvia 610,740 1,560,242 +949,502
France 992,285 478,788 -513,497
United Arab Emirates 628,077 669,280 +41,203
Ireland 583,006 664,132 +81,126
Brazil 876,581 225,979 -650,602
South Africa 374,923 438,417 +63,494

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) 20,841,331
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 12,749,690
Air transport 7,861,563
Road transport 17,481
Other 102

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) 13,615,773 7,225,558 -6,390,215
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 7,945,563 4,804,127 -3,141,436
Air transport 3,741,576 4,119,987 +378,411
Road transport 17,481 0 -17,481
Other 24 78 +54

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 8,206,092
Southampton 7,729,879
Felixstowe 5,515,980
London Gateway Port 5,261,392
London Heathrow Airport 3,097,867

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 4,500,762 3,705,330 -795,432
Southampton 4,964,862 2,765,017 -2,199,845
Felixstowe 3,854,840 1,661,140 -2,193,700
London Gateway Port 3,661,039 1,600,353 -2,060,686
London Heathrow Airport 886,823 2,211,044 +1,324,221
East Midlands Airport 1,540,109 1,077,020 -463,089
Grangemouth Docks 1,434,786 621,418 -813,368
Liverpool Docks 1,079,958 946,520 -133,438
ZLC 872,659 671,088 -201,571
Immingham Docks 412,301 253,026 -159,275

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 8440

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

Description: Machines used to bind books, including sewing, stapling, and folding machines