Import/export HS code 540110: Sewing thread from synthetic filaments

Sewing thread made entirely from synthetic materials like polyester or nylon

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 £
Germany 9,361,133
France 2,099,211
China 1,415,264
India 892,548
United States 761,279

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 £
Germany 5,017,311 4,343,822 -673,489
France 974,274 1,124,937 +150,663
China 827,013 588,251 -238,762
India 445,065 447,483 +2,418
United States 384,763 376,516 -8,247
Romania 373,086 353,117 -19,969
Netherlands 501,184 173,574 -327,610
Turkey 154,724 205,142 +50,418
Spain 179,473 141,496 -37,977
Japan 94,910 71,276 -23,634

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 £
China 5,599,143
Germany 4,783,061
Egypt 2,426,154
India 1,079,706
Turkey 842,190

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 £
China 3,156,755 2,442,388 -714,367
Germany 3,636,407 1,146,654 -2,489,753
Egypt 0 2,426,154 +2,426,154
India 545,389 534,317 -11,072
Turkey 414,015 428,175 +14,160
United States 437,375 381,983 -55,392
Netherlands 356,501 105,605 -250,896
Viet Nam 143,169 227,277 +84,108
Spain 61,433 70,968 +9,535
South Korea 65,514 56,141 -9,373

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 21
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 13
Inner London - West 12
West Yorkshire 12
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 10

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
Greater Manchester 13 18 +5
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 11 10 -1
Inner London - West 9 8 -1
West Yorkshire 11 7 -4
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7 6 -1
Inner London - East 5 6 +1
Lancashire 4 5 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5 4 -1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 4 7 +3
Essex 4 4 +0

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) 10,039,462
Air transport 3,896,986
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,348,174
Road transport 122,485
Other 17,675

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) 5,357,233 4,682,229 -675,004
Air transport 1,999,188 1,897,798 -101,390
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,901,346 1,446,828 -454,518
Road transport 46,693 75,792 +29,099
Other 12,808 4,867 -7,941

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 6,780,074
Eurotunnel 2,734,360
Birmingham Airport 1,336,452
Felixstowe 1,281,777
Manchester Airport 763,251

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 3,385,626 3,394,448 +8,822
Eurotunnel 1,664,570 1,069,790 -594,780
Birmingham Airport 638,912 697,540 +58,628
Felixstowe 728,502 553,275 -175,227
Manchester Airport 445,134 318,117 -127,017
London Gateway Port 422,605 333,083 -89,522
London Heathrow Airport 377,802 372,263 -5,539
East Midlands Airport 338,964 265,658 -73,306
Thamesport 295,027 255,102 -39,925
Southampton 275,835 129,727 -146,108

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 60
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 36
Manufacture of textiles 25
Manufacture of wearing apparel 11
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 8

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 33
2025-10 35
2025-09 36
2025-08 36
2025-07 36

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
1m-15m 77
54m+ 32
0-1m 25
15m-54m 16
Other 13

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 £
Germany 9,708,076
China 9,101,086
Romania 8,015,038
United States 6,819,785
Portugal 4,179,346

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 £
Germany 3,629,908 6,078,168 +2,448,260
China 4,727,334 4,373,752 -353,582
Romania 4,478,053 3,536,985 -941,068
United States 4,031,429 2,788,356 -1,243,073
Portugal 2,188,905 1,990,441 -198,464
Mexico 2,414,811 1,152,188 -1,262,623
Viet Nam 1,857,773 1,402,626 -455,147
North Macedonia 1,048,826 832,174 -216,652
Poland 784,994 663,826 -121,168
India 586,565 517,544 -69,021

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 18,667
Germany 14,627
India 13,075
Denmark 9,113
France 1,902

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 4,692 13,975 +9,283
Germany 2,442 12,185 +9,743
India 7,413 5,662 -1,751
Denmark 4,819 4,294 -525
France 1,714 188 -1,526
Romania 2 1,087 +1,085
Ireland 1,060 0 -1,060
XI 1,010 0 -1,010
United States 338 346 +8
Belgium 0 369 +369

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) 27,011,723
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 21,564,222
Air transport 7,609,936
Other 61,932
Road transport 12,090

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) 13,208,120 13,803,603 +595,483
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,865,063 9,699,159 -2,165,904
Air transport 4,580,551 3,029,385 -1,551,166
Other 23,618 38,314 +14,696
Road transport 12,090 0 -12,090

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 21,965,371
London Gateway Port 7,576,351
Southampton 6,693,214
Felixstowe 4,791,254
London Heathrow Airport 3,893,433

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 10,312,198 11,653,173 +1,340,975
London Gateway Port 3,811,661 3,764,690 -46,971
Southampton 3,548,667 3,144,547 -404,120
Felixstowe 3,148,518 1,642,736 -1,505,782
London Heathrow Airport 2,280,463 1,612,970 -667,493
Immingham Docks 1,008,190 901,848 -106,342
Harwich 903,811 891,015 -12,796
East Midlands Airport 1,206,180 583,630 -622,550
Eurotunnel 1,384,712 235,209 -1,149,503
Liverpool Docks 171,259 1,055,387 +884,128

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 540110

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

Description: Sewing thread made entirely from synthetic materials like polyester or nylon