Import/export HS code 42021219: Various plastic or fabric containers

Other types of containers with outer surfaces made of plastic or fabric, not including briefcases or school bags

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 19,873,161
China 14,367,483
Belgium 10,387,652
Italy 899,922
Netherlands 828,797

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 9,662,875 10,210,286 +547,411
China 8,046,562 6,320,921 -1,725,641
Belgium 4,418,930 5,968,722 +1,549,792
Italy 546,466 353,456 -193,010
Netherlands 275,593 553,204 +277,611
Viet Nam 413,938 295,616 -118,322
United States 313,970 332,579 +18,609
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 282,990 284,293 +1,303
Pakistan 209,096 169,116 -39,980
Germany 188,619 163,598 -25,021

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 £
France 19,378,003
China 15,885,272
Hungary 8,643,580
Indonesia 1,448,276
Viet Nam 1,071,077

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 £
France 9,426,027 9,951,976 +525,949
China 8,579,724 7,305,548 -1,274,176
Hungary 4,231,417 4,412,163 +180,746
Indonesia 124,651 1,323,625 +1,198,974
Viet Nam 586,681 484,396 -102,285
Italy 602,196 400,683 -201,513
United States 281,676 219,551 -62,125
Canada 166,349 303,036 +136,687
Myanmar 273,183 189,382 -83,801
Pakistan 209,096 169,116 -39,980

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 48
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 23
Outer London - West and North West 23
Greater Manchester 22
Inner London - East 16

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
Inner London - West 32 33 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 13 16 +3
Outer London - West and North West 21 6 -15
Greater Manchester 14 14 +0
Inner London - East 6 13 +7
Surrey, East and West Sussex 9 8 -1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5 7 +2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7 7 +0
West Midlands 7 7 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 7 6 -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) 29,615,632
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 16,914,123
Air transport 2,731,865
Other 1,296,766
Road transport 167,326

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) 14,123,308 15,492,324 +1,369,016
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 9,018,801 7,895,322 -1,123,479
Air transport 1,332,772 1,399,093 +66,321
Other 648,987 647,779 -1,208
Road transport 79,731 87,595 +7,864

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 19,955,032
Felixstowe 8,191,767
Eurotunnel 4,949,279
Southampton 4,334,951
Dover 2,211,340

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 / Eurotunnel 9,825,834 10,129,198 +303,364
Felixstowe 5,096,857 3,094,910 -2,001,947
Eurotunnel 1,515,480 3,433,799 +1,918,319
Southampton 2,465,864 1,869,087 -596,777
Dover 1,568,615 642,725 -925,890
Thamesport 850,897 1,290,168 +439,271
London Heathrow Airport 765,430 933,300 +167,870
London 676,167 624,381 -51,786
000 648,987 647,779 -1,208
London Gateway Port 127,960 677,630 +549,670

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 131
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 98
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 18
Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 16
Other manufacturing 12

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 28
2025-11 41
2025-10 38
2025-09 35
2025-08 39

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+ 121
1m-15m 84
0-1m 39
15m-54m 37
Other 37

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 5,779,701
Germany 702,850
Ireland 500,777
United Arab Emirates 352,533
Italy 300,938

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 3,024,913 2,754,788 -270,125
Germany 556,773 146,077 -410,696
Ireland 159,228 341,549 +182,321
United Arab Emirates 99,748 252,785 +153,037
Italy 60,145 240,793 +180,648
United States 168,266 131,850 -36,416
Netherlands 179,191 102,203 -76,988
Qatar 47,405 109,496 +62,091
Switzerland 16,871 78,454 +61,583
Kuwait 26,671 50,727 +24,056

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 1,259
France 853
XI 188
India 25

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 1,038 221 -817
France 853 0 -853
XI 156 32 -124
India 25 0 -25

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 7,170,681
Air transport 1,818,587
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 262,332
Other 104,777

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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 3,796,693 3,373,988 -422,705
Air transport 820,330 998,257 +177,927
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 148,075 114,257 -33,818
Other 60,716 44,061 -16,655

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,656,437
London Heathrow Airport 848,790
East Midlands Airport 506,296
ZLC 261,493
Harwich 205,305

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 3,518,208 3,138,229 -379,979
London Heathrow Airport 344,283 504,507 +160,224
East Midlands Airport 235,447 270,849 +35,402
ZLC 120,687 140,806 +20,119
Harwich 126,151 79,154 -46,997
Holyhead 59,589 101,814 +42,225
London Stansted Airport 78,915 75,191 -3,724
Immingham Docks 84,186 42,974 -41,212
000 60,716 44,061 -16,655
Dover 11,910 48,659 +36,749

Quick facts

HS code: 42021219

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

Description: Other types of containers with outer surfaces made of plastic or fabric, not including briefcases or school bags