Import/export HS code 5504: Artificial staple fibers, not processed for spinning

Unprocessed synthetic fibers used in making yarn or thread. Includes fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic

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 16,360,661
Austria 4,805,546
China 1,935,772
Netherlands 1,125,440
Indonesia 688,459

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 9,891,168 6,469,493 -3,421,675
Austria 2,254,471 2,551,075 +296,604
China 911,365 1,024,407 +113,042
Netherlands 837,517 287,923 -549,594
Indonesia 101,192 587,267 +486,075
Italy 346,053 204,102 -141,951
Japan 13,303 332,463 +319,160
Spain 0 202,164 +202,164
France 81,341 56,934 -24,407
United States 30,718 22,601 -8,117

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 16,396,740
Austria 5,945,676
China 1,918,523
Italy 812,228
Indonesia 688,459

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 9,929,624 6,467,116 -3,462,508
Austria 3,100,687 2,844,989 -255,698
China 911,365 1,007,158 +95,793
Italy 356,498 455,730 +99,232
Indonesia 101,192 587,267 +486,075
Japan 13,303 332,463 +319,160
Switzerland 16,438 30,049 +13,611
Taiwan 40,147 0 -40,147
Turkey 38,498 0 -38,498
United States 24,311 11,255 -13,056

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 7
Greater Manchester 5
Inner London - West 4
Lancashire 3
Cheshire 2

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
West Yorkshire 5 6 +1
Greater Manchester 3 5 +2
Inner London - West 3 3 +0
Lancashire 3 3 +0
Cheshire 1 2 +1
Cumbria 1 2 +1
Essex 2 2 +0
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1 1 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1 0 -1
Cornwall and Isles of Scilly 1 0 -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) 22,777,564
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,267,194
Air transport 314,768

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) 13,166,407 9,611,157 -3,555,250
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,236,225 2,030,969 +794,744
Air transport 182,045 132,723 -49,322

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 10,182,681
Immingham Docks 4,650,306
Felixstowe 2,495,894
Killingholme 1,533,980
Harwich 1,499,933

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 4,095,566 6,087,115 +1,991,549
Immingham Docks 4,377,316 272,990 -4,104,326
Felixstowe 1,358,678 1,137,216 -221,462
Killingholme 1,533,980 0 -1,533,980
Harwich 268,554 1,231,379 +962,825
Dover / Eurotunnel 223,052 1,180,807 +957,755
Purfleet 1,268,491 0 -1,268,491
Eurotunnel 443,338 537,621 +94,283
Southampton 328,183 582,677 +254,494
London Gateway Port 104,145 481,790 +377,645

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 14
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 8
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 7
Manufacture of paper and paper products 5
Other manufacturing 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 10
2025-10 10
2025-09 7
2025-08 7
2025-07 9

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 16
54m+ 10
15m-54m 6
0-1m 3
Other 2

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 £
Turkey 517,954
United States 219,807
Viet Nam 170,177
Germany 158,478
Romania 142,822

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 £
Turkey 218,272 299,682 +81,410
United States 167,975 51,832 -116,143
Viet Nam 170,177 0 -170,177
Germany 93,346 65,132 -28,214
Romania 78,423 64,399 -14,024
India 71,088 0 -71,088
Tunisia 43,444 0 -43,444
Czechia 40,950 2,449 -38,501
Malaysia 25,824 0 -25,824
Sweden 16,033 0 -16,033

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) 821,846
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 600,874
Air transport 56,445

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) 438,770 383,076 -55,694
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 477,858 123,016 -354,842
Air transport 45,331 11,114 -34,217

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 791,804
Felixstowe 262,039
Southampton 207,980
London Gateway Port 114,822
ZLC 38,504

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 421,782 370,022 -51,760
Felixstowe 262,039 0 -262,039
Southampton 164,262 43,718 -120,544
London Gateway Port 35,524 79,298 +43,774
ZLC 27,390 11,114 -16,276
Immingham Docks 22,681 3,636 -19,045
East Midlands Airport 14,602 0 -14,602
Dover 10,340 0 -10,340
Portsmouth 0 7,167 +7,167
London Stansted Airport 2,373 0 -2,373

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 5504

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

Description: Unprocessed synthetic fibers used in making yarn or thread. Includes fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic