Import/export HS code 8449: Machines for making felt or nonwoven materials

Machines used to create or finish felt and nonwoven fabrics, including equipment for making felt hats and hat blocks

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 £
Germany 2,382,981
Italy 871,322
China 662,557
France 521,546
Austria 496,101

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 £
Germany 601,201 1,781,780 +1,180,579
Italy 198,582 672,740 +474,158
China 51,324 611,233 +559,909
France 427,034 94,512 -332,522
Austria 241,408 254,693 +13,285
United States 215,958 114,206 -101,752
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
India 135,067 14,633 -120,434
Denmark 124,000 0 -124,000
Netherlands 72,257 36,718 -35,539

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 £
Germany 1,645,932
Italy 1,031,244
Portugal 866,552
China 625,992
Austria 559,039

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 £
Germany 400,298 1,245,634 +845,336
Italy 343,863 687,381 +343,518
Portugal 348,779 517,773 +168,994
China 58,033 567,959 +509,926
Austria 301,453 257,586 -43,867
United States 214,676 114,206 -100,470
France 221,347 21,446 -199,901
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
India 135,067 14,633 -120,434
Australia 968 50,305 +49,337

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 15
Greater Manchester 11
Highlands and Islands 5
Inner London - West 5
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 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
West Yorkshire 11 12 +1
Greater Manchester 6 9 +3
Highlands and Islands 3 3 +0
Inner London - West 4 1 -3
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 1 -2
Cheshire 1 3 +2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 2 3 +1
Lancashire 3 0 -3
Merseyside 3 2 -1
North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset 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) 3,796,124
Air transport 1,346,003
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 693,583
Other 144,730

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) 1,064,662 2,731,462 +1,666,800
Air transport 947,850 398,153 -549,697
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 56,169 637,414 +581,245
Other 73,034 71,696 -1,338

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 2,679,371
Felixstowe 597,031
Eurotunnel 525,286
East Midlands Airport 496,120
Immingham Docks 489,153

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 754,793 1,924,578 +1,169,785
Felixstowe 26,169 570,862 +544,693
Eurotunnel 142,743 382,543 +239,800
East Midlands Airport 340,444 155,676 -184,768
Immingham Docks 129,672 359,481 +229,809
London Heathrow Airport 198,630 128,662 -69,968
London Stansted Airport 226,370 85,121 -141,249
000 73,034 71,696 -1,338
Manchester Airport 138,463 0 -138,463
Dover / Eurotunnel 20,196 39,192 +18,996

Importer companies by SIC division

What this shows: Industry breakdown (SIC divisions) of importing companies.

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 31
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 16
Other manufacturing 12
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 7
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-04 13
2026-03 10
2026-02 13
2026-01 13
2025-12 7

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+ 31
1m-15m 30
0-1m 11
15m-54m 10
Other 8

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 £
Egypt 494,996
Italy 303,136
Austria 205,059
Germany 182,146
Portugal 156,000

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 £
Egypt 0 494,996 +494,996
Italy 0 303,136 +303,136
Austria 161,855 43,204 -118,651
Germany 49,311 132,835 +83,524
Portugal 154,000 2,000 -152,000
United States 91,078 54,653 -36,425
Turkey 26,552 0 -26,552
Singapore 0 21,615 +21,615
Ireland 16,207 2,850 -13,357
Canada 5,258 9,754 +4,496

Export volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 756,841
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 589,529
Air transport 279,079

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 273,614 483,227 +209,613
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 76,888 512,641 +435,753
Air transport 185,646 93,433 -92,213

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 707,420
Felixstowe 463,212
East Midlands Airport 94,905
Immingham Docks 85,100
London Gateway Port 75,981

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 258,957 448,463 +189,506
Felixstowe 26,552 436,660 +410,108
East Midlands Airport 71,636 23,269 -48,367
Immingham Docks 50,336 34,764 -15,572
London Gateway Port 0 75,981 +75,981
London Stansted Airport 51,383 23,791 -27,592
London Heathrow Airport 21,330 34,551 +13,221
ZLC 41,297 11,822 -29,475
Holyhead 8,059 0 -8,059
Fishguard 6,598 0 -6,598

Quick facts

HS code: 8449

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

Description: Machines used to create or finish felt and nonwoven fabrics, including equipment for making felt hats and hat blocks