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 9,458,194
Germany 5,771,927
China 3,077,961
Belgium 1,311,198
Italy 577,884

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 4,143,841 5,314,353 +1,170,512
Germany 2,635,488 3,136,439 +500,951
China 1,481,230 1,596,731 +115,501
Belgium 803,956 507,242 -296,714
Italy 419,803 158,081 -261,722
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 48,011 228,428 +180,417
Thailand 0 152,790 +152,790
Taiwan 20,411 83,182 +62,771
Hungary 36,574 21,019 -15,555
United States 25,485 27,159 +1,674

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 14,421,141
China 4,818,583
Italy 800,594
Thailand 362,289
Canada 343,351

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 6,437,282 7,983,859 +1,546,577
China 2,450,306 2,368,277 -82,029
Italy 371,514 429,080 +57,566
Thailand 54,300 307,989 +253,689
Canada 295,579 47,772 -247,807
Taiwan 0 64,274 +64,274
India 17,095 19,508 +2,413
Japan 2,701 32,797 +30,096
United States 16,214 10,561 -5,653
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 13
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 14 11 -3
Outer London - West and North West 8 8 +0
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6 4 -2
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
Surrey, East and West Sussex 4 2 -2
Essex 1 3 +2
Merseyside 3 2 -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) 16,603,017
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,422,287
Air transport 1,032,598
Other 17,432

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) 7,741,705 8,861,312 +1,119,607
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,602,404 1,819,883 +217,479
Air transport 387,230 645,368 +258,138
Other 1,192 16,240 +15,048

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 11,203,712
Eurotunnel 3,464,165
Felixstowe 1,651,872
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,363,456
Southampton 1,008,457

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 5,290,707 5,913,005 +622,298
Eurotunnel 1,458,764 2,005,401 +546,637
Felixstowe 690,712 961,160 +270,448
Dover / Eurotunnel 728,351 635,105 -93,246
Southampton 670,357 338,100 -332,257
London Gateway Port 31,516 444,481 +412,965
London 222,015 164,117 -57,898
Thamesport 205,133 113,354 -91,779
East Midlands Airport 148,936 144,883 -4,053
London Heathrow Airport 74,986 180,463 +105,477

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 47
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 37
Other manufacturing 7
Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities 5
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 16
2025-10 22
2025-09 13
2025-08 19
2025-07 22

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 31
0-1m 17
Other 10
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 2,388,847
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 530,777
United States 452,476
France 424,511
Switzerland 420,736

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 2,290,876 97,971 -2,192,905
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 478,494 52,283 -426,211
United States 357,770 94,706 -263,064
France 203,175 221,336 +18,161
Switzerland 33,816 386,920 +353,104
Spain 72,867 28,864 -44,003
United Arab Emirates 53,099 42,305 -10,794
Germany 46,472 42,442 -4,030
Singapore 16,873 66,674 +49,801
Italy 52,506 29,873 -22,633

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 936
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 £
XU 342 594 +252
China 40 10 -30

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 4,410,221
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,042,094
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 152,928
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 3,705,802 704,419 -3,001,383
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 368,287 673,807 +305,520
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 109,438 43,490 -65,948
Other 382 604 +222

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 3,368,711
Dover / Eurotunnel 909,738
East Midlands Airport 558,399
London Stansted Airport 210,875
ZLC 203,499

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 3,038,904 329,807 -2,709,097
Dover / Eurotunnel 311,114 598,624 +287,510
East Midlands Airport 352,189 206,210 -145,979
London Stansted Airport 139,451 71,424 -68,027
ZLC 146,467 57,032 -89,435
Felixstowe 77,243 10,982 -66,261
Dover 30,250 42,949 +12,699
Manchester Airport 25,458 39,946 +14,488
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