Import/export HS code 2849: Carbides, chemically defined or not

Hard materials made by combining carbon with metals or other elements. Used in tools, cutting equipment, and industrial applications

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 4,781,009
Germany 4,553,441
Norway 3,146,994
South Africa 2,767,235
Netherlands 1,794,200

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 1,837,761 2,943,248 +1,105,487
Germany 2,274,410 2,279,031 +4,621
Norway 1,411,488 1,735,506 +324,018
South Africa 1,565,151 1,202,084 -363,067
Netherlands 1,550,517 243,683 -1,306,834
United States 853,872 811,885 -41,987
Brazil 708,998 804,683 +95,685
Belgium 991,504 426,338 -565,166
Viet Nam 590,439 655,261 +64,822
Spain 406,249 800,680 +394,431

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 5,376,051
Germany 4,594,402
South Africa 3,954,238
Norway 3,078,196
United States 1,830,372

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 2,097,905 3,278,146 +1,180,241
Germany 2,433,075 2,161,327 -271,748
South Africa 2,729,228 1,225,010 -1,504,218
Norway 1,360,048 1,718,148 +358,100
United States 904,946 925,426 +20,480
Brazil 711,102 822,545 +111,443
Viet Nam 590,439 818,801 +228,362
Belgium 933,504 376,849 -556,655
Spain 404,324 716,389 +312,065
India 336,314 323,401 -12,913

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5
Shropshire and Staffordshire 5
Surrey, East and West Sussex 4
West Yorkshire 4
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3

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
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5 4 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 5 3 -2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 3 1 -2
West Yorkshire 3 2 -1
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 0 3 +3
Greater Manchester 3 2 -1
South Yorkshire 3 2 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2 1 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 0 2 +2
Cheshire 2 1 -1

Import volume by transport

What this shows: Import value by transport mode used to bring goods into the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 10,285,068
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 10,149,349
Air transport 4,168,971
Other 3,110,469
Road transport 185,658

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,711,380 5,573,688 +862,308
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,898,142 4,251,207 -1,646,935
Air transport 2,020,934 2,148,037 +127,103
Other 1,873,706 1,236,763 -636,943
Road transport 0 185,658 +185,658

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Immingham Docks 8,298,862
Liverpool Docks 3,585,463
000 3,110,469
Felixstowe 1,781,352
London Gateway Port 1,572,729

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 £
Immingham Docks 5,001,814 3,297,048 -1,704,766
Liverpool Docks 1,367,569 2,217,894 +850,325
000 1,873,706 1,236,763 -636,943
Felixstowe 576,305 1,205,047 +628,742
London Gateway Port 849,292 723,437 -125,855
Dover 807,511 561,580 -245,931
London Heathrow Airport 422,994 842,736 +419,742
499 0 755,607 +755,607
Birmingham Airport 276,954 461,770 +184,816
Manchester Airport 404,004 232,780 -171,224

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products 16
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 15
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 9
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 5
Other manufacturing 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 13
2025-11 16
2025-10 11
2025-09 13
2025-08 15

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+ 29
1m-15m 21
15m-54m 10
Other 4
0-1m 1

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 849,394
Germany 748,780
Japan 688,523
India 634,769
United Arab Emirates 540,570

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 321,410 527,984 +206,574
Germany 324,196 424,584 +100,388
Japan 393,393 295,130 -98,263
India 346,798 287,971 -58,827
United Arab Emirates 435,453 105,117 -330,336
China 263,860 142,825 -121,035
Belgium 174,153 213,444 +39,291
Norway 223,702 82,904 -140,798
Poland 181,715 66,176 -115,539
Saudi Arabia 61,805 112,414 +50,609

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 4,210,605
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,661,129
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,452,231
Other 136

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 2,324,491 1,886,114 -438,377
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 803,938 857,191 +53,253
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 847,311 604,920 -242,391
Other 135 1 -134

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 1,334,417
London Heathrow Airport 1,192,809
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,147,624
London Gateway Port 904,849
Glasgow Airport 711,683

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 £
East Midlands Airport 880,059 454,358 -425,701
London Heathrow Airport 466,979 725,830 +258,851
Dover / Eurotunnel 600,480 547,144 -53,336
London Gateway Port 547,242 357,607 -189,635
Glasgow Airport 397,951 313,732 -84,219
Manchester Airport 311,419 235,121 -76,298
Immingham Docks 222,933 80,763 -142,170
London Stansted Airport 134,027 86,838 -47,189
ZLC 135,290 67,984 -67,306
Southampton 45,310 139,248 +93,938

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 2849

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

Description: Hard materials made by combining carbon with metals or other elements. Used in tools, cutting equipment, and industrial applications