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 14,125,808
Japan 12,608,017
Germany 11,409,357
Spain 9,937,486
Netherlands 4,247,260

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 13,553,765 572,043 -12,981,722
Japan 9,924,469 2,683,548 -7,240,921
Germany 8,189,553 3,219,804 -4,969,749
Spain 1,691,672 8,245,814 +6,554,142
Netherlands 3,948,227 299,033 -3,649,194
Poland 3,765,481 77,008 -3,688,473
Italy 585,295 1,565,521 +980,226
United States 1,302,519 343,445 -959,074
China 635,659 517,144 -118,515
Norway 622,533 145,840 -476,693

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 14,230,796
Japan 12,865,362
Spain 12,795,352
Germany 12,515,152
Poland 4,347,857

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 12,662,140 1,568,656 -11,093,484
Japan 10,025,876 2,839,486 -7,186,390
Spain 4,550,541 8,244,811 +3,694,270
Germany 9,330,167 3,184,985 -6,145,182
Poland 4,273,256 74,601 -4,198,655
United States 1,253,132 361,712 -891,420
China 873,507 365,388 -508,119
France 463,004 324,363 -138,641
Norway 620,569 108,432 -512,137
Switzerland 381,710 327,505 -54,205

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 11
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 8
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6
Shropshire and Staffordshire 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 9 7 -2
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 5 7 +2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 5 +3
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6 3 -3
Shropshire and Staffordshire 4 5 +1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 4 +1
Essex 4 2 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 4 +1
Inner London - East 1 3 +2
Greater Manchester 2 2 +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) 32,082,551
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 28,541,477
Air transport 3,744,505
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) 17,456,236 14,626,315 -2,829,921
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 25,318,431 3,223,046 -22,095,385
Air transport 2,491,072 1,253,433 -1,237,639
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 29,795,440
Tyne 8,163,213
Purfleet 4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,952,998
Southampton 2,521,005

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 17,710,783 12,084,657 -5,626,126
Tyne 8,163,213 0 -8,163,213
Purfleet 4,235,684 0 -4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,669,449 283,549 -3,385,900
Southampton 550,649 1,970,356 +1,419,707
London Heathrow Airport 1,532,423 655,320 -877,103
Harwich 1,503,759 357,711 -1,146,048
Immingham Docks 1,380,114 389,375 -990,739
London Gateway Port 809,589 866,662 +57,073
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 17
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 13
Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 11
Manufacture of basic metals 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 10
2025-11 20
2025-10 12
2025-09 10
2025-08 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+ 41
1m-15m 36
Other 15
0-1m 13
15m-54m 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 4,996,446
Germany 2,436,829
Italy 1,603,242
Turkey 1,119,033
Mexico 1,002,859

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 2,793,979 2,202,467 -591,512
Germany 1,836,539 600,290 -1,236,249
Italy 1,000,529 602,713 -397,816
Turkey 400,881 718,152 +317,271
Mexico 3,250 999,609 +996,359
Spain 657,818 92,300 -565,518
Algeria 0 598,757 +598,757
Switzerland 4,396 530,955 +526,559
South Korea 522,000 0 -522,000
Philippines 0 475,551 +475,551

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 39,576
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 20,405 19,171 -1,234
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) 8,318,090
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 7,605,280
Air transport 1,310,264
Other 40,110

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) 4,316,942 4,001,148 -315,794
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 4,468,161 3,137,119 -1,331,042
Air transport 802,814 507,450 -295,364
Other 20,405 19,705 -700

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,399,876
Southampton 3,511,097
London Gateway Port 2,040,038
Liverpool Docks 1,419,530
Felixstowe 1,175,347

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 4,356,207 2,043,669 -2,312,538
Southampton 2,430,437 1,080,660 -1,349,777
London Gateway Port 1,184,064 855,974 -328,090
Liverpool Docks 7,912 1,411,618 +1,403,706
Felixstowe 523,959 651,388 +127,429
Dover 45,930 515,578 +469,648
London 175,484 298,963 +123,479
London Heathrow Airport 153,706 218,253 +64,547
East Midlands Airport 246,503 66,859 -179,644
London Stansted Airport 170,692 126,539 -44,153

Quick facts

HS code: 851521

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

Description: Fully or partly automatic machines for welding metals