Import/export HS code 851521: Automatic welding machines

Fully or partly automatic machines for welding 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 £
France 13,446,498
Japan 10,882,649
Germany 10,584,984
Spain 10,044,800
Italy 4,115,239

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 £
France 11,063,036 2,383,462 -8,679,574
Japan 7,993,073 2,889,576 -5,103,497
Germany 7,455,637 3,129,347 -4,326,290
Spain 1,615,442 8,429,358 +6,813,916
Italy 491,890 3,623,349 +3,131,459
Netherlands 3,951,932 69,155 -3,882,777
United States 1,251,840 456,899 -794,941
China 598,675 599,093 +418
Taiwan 181,336 536,630 +355,294
Switzerland 344,214 361,763 +17,549

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 £
Italy 18,069,051
Germany 11,757,270
Japan 11,159,692
Spain 10,547,152
United States 1,683,953

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 £
Italy 12,571,870 5,497,181 -7,074,689
Germany 8,693,716 3,063,554 -5,630,162
Japan 8,095,624 3,064,068 -5,031,556
Spain 2,117,794 8,429,358 +6,311,564
United States 1,213,829 470,124 -743,705
China 649,239 612,414 -36,825
France 576,657 270,220 -306,437
Taiwan 181,336 536,630 +355,294
Switzerland 318,797 327,505 +8,708
United Kingdom 264,996 351,078 +86,082

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 10
West Midlands 10
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 8
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5

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 3 8 +5
West Midlands 8 7 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 5 7 +2
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6 3 -3
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 2 5 +3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 2 -3
Shropshire and Staffordshire 4 4 +0
Essex 3 2 -1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 2 2 +0
Inner London - East 3 2 -1

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) 28,925,610
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 27,360,452
Air transport 3,124,645
Rail transport 426,433
Other 167,284

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) 10,927,586 17,998,024 +7,070,438
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 23,041,919 4,318,533 -18,723,386
Air transport 1,702,263 1,422,382 -279,881
Rail transport 357,301 69,132 -288,169
Other 167,284 0 -167,284
Road transport 39,972 34,258 -5,714

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 30,841,448
Tyne 6,996,513
Purfleet 4,235,684
Southampton 2,564,709
London Heathrow Airport 1,785,953

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 15,124,333 15,717,115 +592,782
Tyne 6,996,513 0 -6,996,513
Purfleet 4,235,684 0 -4,235,684
Southampton 415,336 2,149,373 +1,734,037
London Heathrow Airport 1,020,830 765,123 -255,707
London Gateway Port 679,832 822,641 +142,809
Eurotunnel 666,541 701,078 +34,537
Felixstowe 491,006 814,729 +323,723
Immingham Docks 853,492 322,901 -530,591
London 1,106,137 49,053 -1,057,084

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 22
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 19
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 13
Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 12
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 15
2026-03 12
2026-02 14
2026-01 10
2025-12 14

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+ 42
1m-15m 34
Other 15
0-1m 13
15m-54m 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 £
United States 5,329,374
Germany 2,263,834
Italy 1,286,326
Mexico 1,220,399
France 860,016

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 2,957,460 2,371,914 -585,546
Germany 1,585,387 678,447 -906,940
Italy 683,613 602,713 -80,900
Mexico 3,250 1,217,149 +1,213,899
France 35,626 824,390 +788,764
Algeria 461,807 374,546 -87,261
Turkey 393,695 364,429 -29,266
Switzerland 265,658 343,370 +77,712
India 411,753 120,723 -291,030
South Korea 522,000 0 -522,000

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 45,659
Italy 534

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 20,333 25,326 +4,993
Italy 0 534 +534

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) 8,844,966
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 7,423,470
Air transport 1,524,015
Other 46,193

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) 4,985,895 3,859,071 -1,126,824
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 4,073,659 3,349,811 -723,848
Air transport 772,138 751,877 -20,261
Other 20,333 25,860 +5,527

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,146,260
Southampton 3,383,597
London Gateway Port 2,040,038
Liverpool Docks 1,996,056
Felixstowe 1,413,870

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 3,377,669 2,768,591 -609,078
Southampton 2,057,499 1,326,098 -731,401
London Gateway Port 1,322,148 717,890 -604,258
Liverpool Docks 581,795 1,414,261 +832,466
Felixstowe 1,034,159 379,711 -654,448
Dover 399,713 159,624 -240,089
London Heathrow Airport 122,968 411,457 +288,489
East Midlands Airport 233,706 79,063 -154,643
London Stansted Airport 153,228 157,438 +4,210
London 0 302,758 +302,758

Quick facts

HS code: 851521

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

Description: Fully or partly automatic machines for welding metals