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 1,239,907
Italy 762,409
China 551,857
Belgium 453,908
Germany 421,310

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 716,931 522,976 -193,955
Italy 245,374 517,035 +271,661
China 305,104 246,753 -58,351
Belgium 305,892 148,016 -157,876
Germany 398,603 22,707 -375,896
Spain 281,612 100,705 -180,907
United States 178,783 124,925 -53,858
Portugal 102,703 127,078 +24,375
Netherlands 149,011 27,608 -121,403
Austria 68,375 76,358 +7,983

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 1,341,531
Italy 729,533
Germany 491,096
China 476,380
Belgium 453,908

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 757,724 583,807 -173,917
Italy 236,256 493,277 +257,021
Germany 491,096 0 -491,096
China 264,311 212,069 -52,242
Belgium 305,892 148,016 -157,876
Spain 294,537 100,705 -193,832
United States 178,783 124,029 -54,754
Taiwan 96,665 72,319 -24,346
Turkey 984 123,138 +122,154
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 2 -1
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 1 2 +1
Cheshire 1 0 -1
Cumbria 0 1 +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) 2,340,686
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,872,154
Other 483,028
Air transport 449,511
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) 1,323,905 1,016,781 -307,124
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,085,083 787,071 -298,012
Other 234,146 248,882 +14,736
Air transport 268,746 180,765 -87,981
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 1,252,707
Felixstowe 914,694
London Gateway Port 505,498
000 483,028
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 538,140 714,567 +176,427
Felixstowe 709,099 205,595 -503,504
London Gateway Port 162,592 342,906 +180,314
000 234,146 248,882 +14,736
Immingham Docks 372,447 0 -372,447
Southampton 164,772 199,534 +34,762
Eurotunnel 218,132 104,054 -114,078
London Heathrow Airport 163,636 72,271 -91,365
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 167,851
Portugal 65,945
Turkey 63,219
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 98,182 69,669 -28,513
Portugal 0 65,945 +65,945
Turkey 47,748 15,471 -32,277
United States 30,194 13,766 -16,428
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
Norway 0 4,488 +4,488

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) 352,750
Air transport 68,745
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) 193,243 159,507 -33,736
Air transport 37,919 30,826 -7,093
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 277,186
Dover 49,808
Southampton 29,345
East Midlands Airport 19,507
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 183,654 93,532 -90,122
Dover 2,275 47,533 +45,258
Southampton 29,345 0 -29,345
East Midlands Airport 12,653 6,854 -5,799
London Stansted Airport 3,931 12,972 +9,041
Liverpool Docks 16,571 0 -16,571
Immingham Docks 0 15,387 +15,387
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