Import/export HS code 4906: Architectural and engineering plans

Original hand-drawn plans, blueprints, and designs for buildings, machinery, or maps. Includes handwritten notes and photocopies

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 £
United States 2,681,965
France 1,838,074
Germany 1,279,537
Sweden 120,414
Ireland 81,551

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 £
United States 1,016,045 1,665,920 +649,875
France 48,338 1,789,736 +1,741,398
Germany 1,134,059 145,478 -988,581
Sweden 54,267 66,147 +11,880
Ireland 65,648 15,903 -49,745
Australia 49,652 0 -49,652
Austria 17,902 31,084 +13,182
Spain 23,070 23,517 +447
Italy 20,741 21,312 +571
Japan 12,489 18,877 +6,388

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 £
United States 2,561,429
France 1,830,798
Germany 1,134,931
Italy 181,079
United Kingdom 149,601

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 £
United States 1,027,536 1,533,893 +506,357
France 43,521 1,787,277 +1,743,756
Germany 971,482 163,449 -808,033
Italy 131,827 49,252 -82,575
United Kingdom 14,201 135,400 +121,199
Czechia 86,860 6,512 -80,348
Spain 23,070 41,410 +18,340
Austria 24,429 32,623 +8,194
Ireland 50,522 0 -50,522
Australia 49,652 0 -49,652

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 11
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6
Inner London - East 5
Greater Manchester 4
Lancashire 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
Inner London - West 6 7 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 2 -2
Inner London - East 3 2 -1
Greater Manchester 1 3 +2
Lancashire 3 0 -3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 1 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 1 1 +0
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 1 +0
Devon 1 1 +0
Essex 0 2 +2

Import volume by transport

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

Top 5 values

Transport £
Air transport 5,455,731
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 681,863
Other 125,243
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 51,278

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 £
Air transport 1,876,411 3,579,320 +1,702,909
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 582,175 99,688 -482,487
Other 243 125,000 +124,757
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 23,061 28,217 +5,156

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 4,732,794
Dover 579,875
East Midlands Airport 247,250
Glasgow Airport 231,640
London Stansted Airport 200,030

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 £
London Heathrow Airport 1,440,012 3,292,782 +1,852,770
Dover 513,892 65,983 -447,909
East Midlands Airport 130,600 116,650 -13,950
Glasgow Airport 228,914 2,726 -226,188
London Stansted Airport 61,822 138,208 +76,386
000 243 125,000 +124,757
Dover / Eurotunnel 46,605 30,088 -16,517
Birmingham Airport 5,667 21,220 +15,553
Thamesport 17,964 0 -17,964
Eurotunnel 7,445 7,754 +309

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 10
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products 6
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 6
Manufacture of other transport equipment 5
Manufacture of chemicals and chemical products 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-10 1
2025-09 3
2025-08 4
2025-07 3
2025-06 5

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+ 36
1m-15m 10
15m-54m 7
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 2,654,942
India 1,621,849
United Arab Emirates 1,478,666
Switzerland 545,363
New Zealand 374,241

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 483,141 2,171,801 +1,688,660
India 1,334,989 286,860 -1,048,129
United Arab Emirates 1,477,602 1,064 -1,476,538
Switzerland 542,361 3,002 -539,359
New Zealand 372,241 2,000 -370,241
France 91,343 256,736 +165,393
Netherlands 7,328 319,432 +312,104
Germany 196,812 106,209 -90,603
South Korea 252,000 1,728 -250,272
Jordan 243,028 0 -243,028

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 £
XI 255

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 £
XI 254 1 -253

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 8,331,000
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 961,361
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 407,150
Road transport 2,290
Other 255

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 4,990,023 3,340,977 -1,649,046
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 280,104 681,257 +401,153
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 393,492 13,658 -379,834
Road transport 2,290 0 -2,290
Other 254 1 -253

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Heathrow Airport 5,196,862
London Stansted Airport 1,928,034
East Midlands Airport 899,904
Dover / Eurotunnel 693,044
Felixstowe 375,594

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 3,084,963 2,111,899 -973,064
London Stansted Airport 1,310,046 617,988 -692,058
East Midlands Airport 357,645 542,259 +184,614
Dover / Eurotunnel 267,450 425,594 +158,144
Felixstowe 370,991 4,603 -366,388
Manchester Airport 177,402 2,752 -174,650
Harwich 0 163,800 +163,800
ZLC 54,207 63,129 +8,922
Dover 7,699 49,316 +41,617
Holyhead 4,955 22,163 +17,208

Quick facts

HS code: 4906

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

Description: Original hand-drawn plans, blueprints, and designs for buildings, machinery, or maps. Includes handwritten notes and photocopies