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 4,769,651
Netherlands 2,612,028
France 1,723,890
Spain 918,544
United States 342,030

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 2,612,595 2,157,056 -455,539
Netherlands 1,329,391 1,282,637 -46,754
France 944,120 779,770 -164,350
Spain 489,254 429,290 -59,964
United States 219,813 122,217 -97,596
Germany 168,061 125,861 -42,200
Taiwan 101,522 151,883 +50,361
Egypt 108,870 0 -108,870
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 46,021 49,743 +3,722
South Korea 25,339 23,184 -2,155

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 5,204,804
Mexico 3,950,905
Spain 929,141
Taiwan 424,291
United States 347,203

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 2,816,613 2,388,191 -428,422
Mexico 2,050,394 1,900,511 -149,883
Spain 497,106 432,035 -65,071
Taiwan 246,260 178,031 -68,229
United States 240,027 107,176 -132,851
Germany 221,717 91,697 -130,020
United Kingdom 37,424 30,526 -6,898
Malaysia 16,198 34,034 +17,836
Japan 36,648 9,552 -27,096
Netherlands 41,924 0 -41,924

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 9
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 7
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6
Essex 6

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 Midlands 8 7 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 5 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 6 5 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 4 -1
Essex 5 4 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 4 -1
South East Wales 3 3 +0
West Yorkshire 4 5 +1
Cheshire 4 3 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 2 -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) 4,541,881
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,629,794
Air transport 3,207,374
Other 112,456
Road transport 9,788

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) 2,406,698 2,135,183 -271,515
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,964,732 1,665,062 -299,670
Air transport 1,799,798 1,407,576 -392,222
Other 96,641 15,815 -80,826
Road transport 0 9,788 +9,788

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 1,748,663
Eurotunnel 1,703,666
Felixstowe 1,264,253
London Heathrow Airport 884,000
Southampton 845,827

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 679,384 1,069,279 +389,895
Eurotunnel 981,181 722,485 -258,696
Felixstowe 802,088 462,165 -339,923
London Heathrow Airport 550,435 333,565 -216,870
Southampton 507,583 338,244 -169,339
London Gateway Port 245,161 577,100 +331,939
East Midlands Airport 562,213 175,391 -386,822
London Stansted Airport 233,275 385,467 +152,192
Dover / Eurotunnel 429,379 153,020 -276,359
Birmingham Airport 139,784 168,061 +28,277

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 51
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 23
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 9
Other manufacturing 7
Repair and installation of machinery and equipment 6

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 21
2025-11 26
2025-10 25
2025-09 30
2025-08 27

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 54
54m+ 30
0-1m 23
Other 15
15m-54m 10

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 632,850
Germany 315,202
Ireland 298,043
Mexico 149,522
Saudi Arabia 141,051

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 232,506 400,344 +167,838
Germany 244,703 70,499 -174,204
Ireland 156,518 141,525 -14,993
Mexico 148,481 1,041 -147,440
Saudi Arabia 37,403 103,648 +66,245
United States 67,397 63,704 -3,693
China 92,166 34,883 -57,283
Italy 69,921 12,191 -57,730
Netherlands 67,341 10,380 -56,961
Norway 38,444 19,261 -19,183

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 28,807
Taiwan 2,395
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 14,783 14,024 -759
Taiwan 1,482 913 -569
XI 0 836 +836
Ireland 717 72 -645
Italy 0 94 +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 1,210,095
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,050,019
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 285,663
Other 33,907

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 728,180 481,915 -246,265
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 500,604 549,415 +48,811
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 206,365 79,298 -127,067
Other 17,733 16,174 -1,559

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 757,522
East Midlands Airport 697,751
London Heathrow Airport 310,647
London Gateway Port 192,907
Holyhead 150,257

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 337,377 420,145 +82,768
East Midlands Airport 478,322 219,429 -258,893
London Heathrow Airport 113,944 196,703 +82,759
London Gateway Port 176,874 16,033 -160,841
Holyhead 75,608 74,649 -959
ZLC 81,335 33,631 -47,704
London Stansted Airport 41,351 15,755 -25,596
Southampton 2,942 52,661 +49,719
Liverpool Docks 10,537 35,265 +24,728
000 17,733 16,174 -1,559

Quick facts

HS code: 851511

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

Description: Handheld tools used for soldering metals