Import/export HS code 7206: Iron and steel in basic forms

Raw iron and non-alloy steel in shapes like ingots, used for making other steel products

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 £
China 4,596,404
Ireland 1,552,788
United States 933,549
Netherlands 422,826
Poland 302,657

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 £
China 1,593,518 3,002,886 +1,409,368
Ireland 1,014,132 538,656 -475,476
United States 585,295 348,254 -237,041
Netherlands 211,378 211,448 +70
Poland 3,171 299,486 +296,315
France 209,877 60,090 -149,787
Germany 144,682 73,153 -71,529
Sweden 188,539 0 -188,539
Portugal 96,133 83,829 -12,304
India 21,758 100,976 +79,218

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 4,759,620
United States 834,538
Netherlands 322,954
Poland 302,657
France 222,416

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 1,698,062 3,061,558 +1,363,496
United States 485,576 348,962 -136,614
Netherlands 163,841 159,113 -4,728
Poland 3,171 299,486 +296,315
France 181,193 41,223 -139,970
Sweden 188,539 0 -188,539
India 61,003 124,626 +63,623
Portugal 96,133 82,704 -13,429
United Kingdom 90,488 73,922 -16,566
Germany 88,356 68,781 -19,575

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7
Cheshire 5
West Midlands 5
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4
Inner London - West 4

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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 5 +1
Cheshire 5 4 -1
West Midlands 3 5 +2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 3 +0
Inner London - West 2 2 +0
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 3 +0
Greater Manchester 3 1 -2
Lancashire 2 3 +1
Surrey, East and West Sussex 3 0 -3
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 2 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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,719,045
Air transport 2,177,582
Other 1,519,017
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,506,561
Road transport 11,061

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,740,122 1,978,923 +238,801
Air transport 547,900 1,629,682 +1,081,782
Other 980,764 538,253 -442,511
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 823,437 683,124 -140,313
Road transport 0 11,061 +11,061

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 2,819,505
000 1,519,017
East Midlands Airport 920,214
Southampton 866,618
Dover 729,539

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 £
Felixstowe 1,178,144 1,641,361 +463,217
000 980,764 538,253 -442,511
East Midlands Airport 134,396 785,818 +651,422
Southampton 508,156 358,462 -149,694
Dover 315,858 413,681 +97,823
Manchester Airport 72,174 477,027 +404,853
London Heathrow Airport 227,095 153,359 -73,736
London Stansted Airport 92,032 144,276 +52,244
Immingham Docks 194,034 8,313 -185,721
Eurotunnel 78,108 33,730 -44,378

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 13
Manufacture of basic metals 9
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 9
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 6
Manufacture of electrical equipment 4

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 3
2025-11 2
2025-10 9
2025-09 9
2025-08 4

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+ 24
1m-15m 18
0-1m 9
15m-54m 9
Other 8

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 6,284,836
Spain 4,307,660
Italy 2,545,941
United States 1,801,949
Finland 1,116,251

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 1,541,958 4,742,878 +3,200,920
Spain 2,001,168 2,306,492 +305,324
Italy 116,240 2,429,701 +2,313,461
United States 1,010,111 791,838 -218,273
Finland 476,807 639,444 +162,637
United Arab Emirates 6,684 556,534 +549,850
France 345,688 183,994 -161,694
Ireland 185,462 141,612 -43,850
Norway 50,000 263,431 +213,431
India 16,409 164,490 +148,081

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 3,765,129

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 1,777,289 1,987,840 +210,551

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) 11,429,766
Other 3,774,926
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 2,354,160
Air transport 1,081,089

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) 2,929,024 8,500,742 +5,571,718
Other 1,781,970 1,992,956 +210,986
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,152,396 1,201,764 +49,368
Air transport 122,157 958,932 +836,775

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 9,985,717
000 3,774,926
Southampton 1,259,398
Dover 943,213
Manchester Airport 603,261

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 2,516,675 7,469,042 +4,952,367
000 1,781,970 1,992,956 +210,986
Southampton 834,696 424,702 -409,994
Dover 139,048 804,165 +665,117
Manchester Airport 1,167 602,094 +600,927
Grangemouth Docks 0 556,534 +556,534
East Midlands Airport 27,486 225,357 +197,871
Aberdeen Docks 50,000 176,000 +126,000
Liverpool Docks 142,126 10,177 -131,949
Holyhead 44,493 105,307 +60,814

Related HS codes

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

Quick facts

HS code: 7206

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

Description: Raw iron and non-alloy steel in shapes like ingots, used for making other steel products