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 19,749,449
China 14,375,064
Belgium 10,155,160
Italy 911,421
Netherlands 808,463

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 9,619,613 10,129,836 +510,223
China 7,777,948 6,597,116 -1,180,832
Belgium 4,463,422 5,691,738 +1,228,316
Italy 559,315 352,106 -207,209
Netherlands 249,110 559,353 +310,243
Viet Nam 466,951 285,453 -181,498
United States 290,885 311,439 +20,554
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 142,407 425,990 +283,583
Pakistan 206,440 182,644 -23,796
Germany 214,489 156,052 -58,437

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 19,261,246
China 15,871,233
Hungary 8,543,526
Indonesia 1,326,288
Viet Nam 1,127,171

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 9,394,096 9,867,150 +473,054
China 8,281,217 7,590,016 -691,201
Hungary 4,296,646 4,246,880 -49,766
Indonesia 91,544 1,234,744 +1,143,200
Viet Nam 680,711 446,460 -234,251
Italy 612,411 399,213 -213,198
Myanmar 307,865 207,484 -100,381
United States 272,973 230,763 -42,210
Canada 180,823 315,483 +134,660
Pakistan 206,440 182,644 -23,796

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
Greater Manchester 22
Outer London - West and North West 21
Inner London - East 15

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 34 +2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 15 16 +1
Greater Manchester 12 16 +4
Outer London - West and North West 17 8 -9
Inner London - East 6 12 +6
Surrey, East and West Sussex 9 8 -1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5 7 +2
West Midlands 7 7 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 7 7 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6 8 +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) 29,292,431
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 16,876,047
Air transport 2,734,007
Other 1,361,296
Road transport 180,292

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) 14,163,721 15,128,710 +964,989
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 8,792,574 8,083,473 -709,101
Air transport 1,231,100 1,502,907 +271,807
Other 626,062 735,234 +109,172
Road transport 91,576 88,716 -2,860

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 19,861,279
Felixstowe 8,312,418
Eurotunnel 4,681,762
Southampton 4,308,566
Dover 2,243,831

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 9,899,110 9,962,169 +63,059
Felixstowe 4,850,802 3,461,616 -1,389,186
Eurotunnel 1,372,762 3,309,000 +1,936,238
Southampton 2,450,111 1,858,455 -591,656
Dover 1,644,650 599,181 -1,045,469
Thamesport 881,110 1,234,019 +352,909
London Heathrow Airport 669,230 1,045,185 +375,955
000 626,062 735,234 +109,172
London 713,718 607,980 -105,738
London Gateway Port 133,245 583,077 +449,832

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 135
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 96
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
2025-11 41
2025-10 38
2025-09 35
2025-08 39
2025-07 57

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+ 124
1m-15m 83
0-1m 39
15m-54m 35
Other 35

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 5,869,518
Germany 792,175
Ireland 503,871
United States 305,183
Italy 301,315

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 2,618,463 3,251,055 +632,592
Germany 650,081 142,094 -507,987
Ireland 158,313 345,558 +187,245
United States 167,284 137,899 -29,385
Italy 64,223 237,092 +172,869
Netherlands 151,857 125,960 -25,897
United Arab Emirates 112,607 123,515 +10,908
Qatar 48,071 92,459 +44,388
Switzerland 16,504 78,254 +61,750
Kuwait 27,678 50,727 +23,049

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 £
XU 105,478
China 1,348
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 £
XU 59,517 45,961 -13,556
China 896 452 -444
France 838 15 -823
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) 7,333,856
Air transport 1,719,558
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 264,064
Other 107,892

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) 3,476,667 3,857,189 +380,522
Air transport 842,273 877,285 +35,012
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 152,935 111,129 -41,806
Other 61,432 46,460 -14,972

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,838,095
London Heathrow Airport 771,365
East Midlands Airport 517,297
ZLC 237,588
Harwich 201,031

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 3,209,902 3,628,193 +418,291
London Heathrow Airport 397,477 373,888 -23,589
East Midlands Airport 227,674 289,623 +61,949
ZLC 122,646 114,942 -7,704
Harwich 120,901 80,130 -40,771
Holyhead 59,589 101,814 +42,225
London Stansted Airport 53,478 94,040 +40,562
Immingham Docks 84,186 33,625 -50,561
000 61,432 46,460 -14,972
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