Import/export HS code 851511: Soldering irons and guns

Handheld tools used for soldering metals

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 5,342,296
Netherlands 3,067,752
France 2,379,619
Spain 1,050,622
United States 370,052

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 2,628,895 2,713,401 +84,506
Netherlands 1,453,870 1,613,882 +160,012
France 1,027,424 1,352,195 +324,771
Spain 527,179 523,443 -3,736
United States 191,622 178,430 -13,192
Germany 184,901 116,613 -68,288
Taiwan 126,703 160,702 +33,999
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 62,508 49,252 -13,256
Egypt 108,870 0 -108,870
Malaysia 46,958 32,724 -14,234

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 5,845,636
Mexico 4,462,716
Spain 1,061,968
Germany 819,337
Taiwan 509,556

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 2,905,580 2,940,056 +34,476
Mexico 2,233,778 2,228,938 -4,840
Spain 535,055 526,913 -8,142
Germany 243,360 575,977 +332,617
Taiwan 241,484 268,072 +26,588
United States 211,748 142,432 -69,316
Malaysia 46,958 76,282 +29,324
United Kingdom 28,954 30,343 +1,389
France 5,025 40,891 +35,866
Japan 30,000 13,831 -16,169

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 9
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 9
West Midlands 9
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 8
South East Wales 7

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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 7 +3
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 6 7 +1
West Midlands 7 7 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 4 7 +3
South East Wales 5 3 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 4 -1
Essex 5 4 -1
Greater Manchester 3 5 +2
Inner London - West 3 3 +0
Surrey, East and West Sussex 2 5 +3

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) 5,668,591
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,166,245
Air transport 3,544,085
Other 92,741
Road transport 11,308

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) 2,605,322 3,063,269 +457,947
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,974,171 2,192,074 +217,903
Air transport 1,906,676 1,637,409 -269,267
Other 87,448 5,293 -82,155
Road transport 0 11,308 +11,308

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 2,381,923
Eurotunnel 2,066,863
Felixstowe 1,297,331
London Gateway Port 1,187,863
Southampton 930,294

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 909,493 1,472,430 +562,937
Eurotunnel 1,077,862 989,001 -88,861
Felixstowe 646,371 650,960 +4,589
London Gateway Port 337,653 850,210 +512,557
Southampton 566,997 363,297 -203,700
London Heathrow Airport 565,431 325,839 -239,592
London Stansted Airport 327,485 415,762 +88,277
East Midlands Airport 500,961 162,026 -338,935
Dover / Eurotunnel 273,348 321,073 +47,725
Luton Airport 145,904 247,546 +101,642

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
53
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles
24
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c.
11
Repair and installation of machinery and equipment
7
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment
6

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-05 28
2026-04 29
2026-03 25
2026-02 30
2026-01 21

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 63
54m+ 34
0-1m 23
15m-54m 11
Other 11

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 £
France 707,558
Germany 349,417
Ireland 340,191
United States 180,119
Mexico 149,522

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 £
France 330,694 376,864 +46,170
Germany 244,195 105,222 -138,973
Ireland 154,756 185,435 +30,679
United States 70,681 109,438 +38,757
Mexico 148,481 1,041 -147,440
Saudi Arabia 38,654 105,275 +66,621
China 105,571 19,604 -85,967
Italy 64,463 17,598 -46,865
Norway 22,047 32,484 +10,437
Poland 39,284 13,258 -26,026

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 36,546
Taiwan 2,703
XI 836
Ireland 789
Italy 94

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 19,327 17,219 -2,108
Taiwan 1,189 1,514 +325
XI 743 93 -650
Ireland 717 72 -645
Italy 94 0 -94
Mexico 0 45 +45

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 1,326,567
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,122,077
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 322,422
Other 42,113

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 780,251 546,316 -233,935
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 583,307 538,770 -44,537
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 207,016 115,406 -91,610
Other 22,987 19,126 -3,861

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 818,663
East Midlands Airport 773,120
London Heathrow Airport 340,194
London Gateway Port 194,079
Holyhead 173,171

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 439,143 379,520 -59,623
East Midlands Airport 459,592 313,528 -146,064
London Heathrow Airport 166,090 174,104 +8,014
London Gateway Port 171,546 22,533 -149,013
Holyhead 61,230 111,941 +50,711
ZLC 86,674 37,440 -49,234
Liverpool Docks 18,470 64,370 +45,900
Southampton 1,902 52,661 +50,759
London Stansted Airport 41,158 13,272 -27,886
000 22,987 19,126 -3,861

Quick facts

HS code: 851511

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

Description: Handheld tools used for soldering metals