Import/export HS code 5506: Synthetic fibers ready for spinning

Synthetic fibers like nylon, polyester, or acrylic, prepared for making yarn. Includes carded or combed fibers

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 £
Indonesia 1,216,667
Italy 698,817
China 542,199
Germany 413,229
Belgium 402,006

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 £
Indonesia 684,624 532,043 -152,581
Italy 181,782 517,035 +335,253
China 305,286 236,913 -68,373
Germany 395,903 17,326 -378,577
Belgium 253,990 148,016 -105,974
Spain 281,612 117,747 -163,865
United States 190,690 111,488 -79,202
Portugal 107,366 128,157 +20,791
Netherlands 149,011 27,608 -121,403
Austria 77,039 67,979 -9,060

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 £
Indonesia 1,318,291
Italy 665,941
Germany 484,849
China 466,722
Belgium 402,006

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 £
Indonesia 725,417 592,874 -132,543
Italy 172,664 493,277 +320,613
Germany 484,849 0 -484,849
China 265,389 201,333 -64,056
Belgium 253,990 148,016 -105,974
Spain 283,220 117,747 -165,473
United States 189,794 111,488 -78,306
Turkey 21,233 106,025 +84,792
Taiwan 27,409 72,319 +44,910
Netherlands 34,700 24,607 -10,093

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 6
Inner London - West 4
Greater Manchester 3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 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 4 5 +1
Inner London - West 3 1 -2
Greater Manchester 1 2 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 0 2 +2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 1 1 +0
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 1 1 +0
Outer London - West and North West 0 2 +2
West Midlands 0 2 +2
Cheshire 1 0 -1
Cumbria 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) 2,227,806
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,802,141
Other 485,256
Air transport 416,742
Road transport 4,387

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) 1,231,106 996,700 -234,406
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,011,865 790,276 -221,589
Other 251,091 234,165 -16,926
Air transport 235,314 181,428 -53,886
Road transport 0 4,387 +4,387

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 1,157,391
Felixstowe 853,067
London Gateway Port 555,388
000 485,256
Immingham Docks 372,447

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 422,646 734,745 +312,099
Felixstowe 674,223 178,844 -495,379
London Gateway Port 163,643 391,745 +228,102
000 251,091 234,165 -16,926
Immingham Docks 372,447 0 -372,447
Eurotunnel 211,885 104,054 -107,831
Southampton 121,423 184,607 +63,184
London Heathrow Airport 125,401 72,271 -53,130
Killingholme 51,291 107,994 +56,703
Hull 50,730 0 -50,730

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 13
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 9
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 6
Other manufacturing 2
Financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding 1

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 4
2025-10 2
2025-09 8
2025-08 6
2025-07 7

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
15m-54m 8
54m+ 5
Other 3
0-1m 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 £
Germany 221,020
Portugal 87,180
Turkey 52,006
United States 43,960
Italy 43,335

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 103,697 117,323 +13,626
Portugal 0 87,180 +87,180
Turkey 36,535 15,471 -21,064
United States 33,866 10,094 -23,772
Italy 38,454 4,881 -33,573
Malaysia 29,345 0 -29,345
Ireland 7,314 7,287 -27
France 9,123 1,849 -7,274
Netherlands 6,601 0 -6,601
Sweden 1,850 3,987 +2,137

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) 415,941
Air transport 70,801
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 57,754

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) 187,545 228,396 +40,851
Air transport 41,591 29,210 -12,381
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 53,522 4,232 -49,290

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 287,208
Dover 102,977
Southampton 29,345
East Midlands Airport 21,563
London Stansted Airport 16,903

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 172,441 114,767 -57,674
Dover 2,275 100,702 +98,427
Southampton 29,345 0 -29,345
East Midlands Airport 16,325 5,238 -11,087
London Stansted Airport 3,931 12,972 +9,041
Liverpool Docks 16,571 0 -16,571
Immingham Docks 5,515 9,872 +4,357
Holyhead 7,314 7,287 -27
ZLC 9,763 0 -9,763
London Heathrow Airport 5,833 2,740 -3,093

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 5506

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

Description: Synthetic fibers like nylon, polyester, or acrylic, prepared for making yarn. Includes carded or combed fibers