Import/export HS code 42021910: Aluminium containers

Containers made from aluminium, such as cases for tools or equipment

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 9,658,877
Germany 6,130,349
China 2,986,854
Belgium 1,261,320
Italy 572,590

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 4,459,163 5,199,714 +740,551
Germany 2,819,537 3,310,812 +491,275
China 1,451,014 1,535,840 +84,826
Belgium 775,145 486,175 -288,970
Italy 423,517 149,073 -274,444
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 50,444 227,462 +177,018
Thailand 0 152,790 +152,790
Taiwan 20,411 105,414 +85,003
Hungary 27,327 21,019 -6,308
United States 18,754 27,159 +8,405

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 £
Germany 14,882,688
China 4,682,923
Italy 795,934
Thailand 467,905
Canada 344,334

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 £
Germany 6,924,791 7,957,897 +1,033,106
China 2,365,319 2,317,604 -47,715
Italy 386,826 409,108 +22,282
Thailand 79,523 388,382 +308,859
Canada 290,822 53,512 -237,310
Taiwan 0 64,274 +64,274
India 26,362 10,241 -16,121
Japan 2,701 32,797 +30,096
United States 9,483 10,561 +1,078
Spain 6,442 12,315 +5,873

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 20
Outer London - West and North West 12
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6
Inner London - East 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
Inner London - West 13 12 -1
Outer London - West and North West 7 8 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7 3 -4
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 4 +0
Inner London - East 5 5 +0
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 5 2 -3
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 2 4 +2
Essex 1 3 +2
Merseyside 3 2 -1
North Yorkshire 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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 17,008,428
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,431,538
Air transport 1,038,868
Other 17,378

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) 8,208,427 8,800,001 +591,574
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,573,923 1,857,615 +283,692
Air transport 387,488 651,380 +263,892
Other 1,228 16,150 +14,922

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 11,658,901
Eurotunnel 3,465,284
Felixstowe 1,546,748
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,331,853
Southampton 1,037,623

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 5,542,362 6,116,539 +574,177
Eurotunnel 1,688,888 1,776,396 +87,508
Felixstowe 671,822 874,926 +203,104
Dover / Eurotunnel 730,715 601,138 -129,577
Southampton 663,209 374,414 -288,795
London Gateway Port 32,352 443,528 +411,176
Thamesport 204,295 199,139 -5,156
London 203,918 165,064 -38,854
East Midlands Airport 145,898 139,564 -6,334
London Heathrow Airport 71,824 181,793 +109,969

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 48
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 36
Other manufacturing 7
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 5
Wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 12
2025-11 16
2025-10 22
2025-09 13
2025-08 19

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+ 49
1m-15m 29
0-1m 17
Other 11
15m-54m 8

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 £
China, Macao Special Administrative Region 2,379,847
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 547,135
United States 462,258
France 438,746
Switzerland 427,604

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 £
China, Macao Special Administrative Region 2,281,876 97,971 -2,183,905
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 476,301 70,834 -405,467
United States 354,231 108,027 -246,204
France 202,308 236,438 +34,130
Switzerland 32,116 395,488 +363,372
Spain 80,729 21,977 -58,752
United Arab Emirates 72,316 22,988 -49,328
Germany 53,270 31,642 -21,628
Italy 53,466 31,161 -22,305
India 70,462 8,809 -61,653

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 50

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 50 0 -50

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 4,437,402
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,059,503
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 147,095
Other 986

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 3,707,047 730,355 -2,976,692
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 376,787 682,716 +305,929
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 103,605 43,490 -60,115
Other 433 553 +120

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 3,376,516
Dover / Eurotunnel 919,664
East Midlands Airport 577,212
London Stansted Airport 220,965
ZLC 194,072

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 £
London Heathrow Airport 3,019,737 356,779 -2,662,958
Dover / Eurotunnel 319,184 600,480 +281,296
East Midlands Airport 376,987 200,225 -176,762
London Stansted Airport 147,235 73,730 -73,505
ZLC 135,372 58,700 -76,672
Felixstowe 76,243 10,982 -65,261
Dover 30,680 48,205 +17,525
Manchester Airport 24,383 39,946 +15,563
London Gateway Port 19,914 31,855 +11,941
Immingham Docks 15,377 16,573 +1,196

Quick facts

HS code: 42021910

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

Description: Containers made from aluminium, such as cases for tools or equipment