Import/export HS code 731450: Expanded metal made of iron or steel

Metal sheets cut and stretched to form a mesh, used for fencing, construction, or industrial purposes

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 £
Italy 9,271,109
China 1,205,370
Switzerland 842,912
France 837,144
United States 780,692

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 £
Italy 5,117,674 4,153,435 -964,239
China 654,493 550,877 -103,616
Switzerland 588,700 254,212 -334,488
France 589,673 247,471 -342,202
United States 548,567 232,125 -316,442
Spain 5,352 375,444 +370,092
Ireland 78,239 84,522 +6,283
Germany 59,836 75,478 +15,642
Netherlands 43,060 38,400 -4,660
Norway 66,721 0 -66,721

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 £
Italy 9,986,499
China 1,196,229
United States 780,692
Switzerland 606,259
Spain 403,238

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 £
Italy 5,519,417 4,467,082 -1,052,335
China 633,814 562,415 -71,399
United States 548,567 232,125 -316,442
Switzerland 457,703 148,556 -309,147
Spain 30,114 373,124 +343,010
France 243,186 73,111 -170,075
Germany 168,424 61,470 -106,954
Belgium 52,823 4,883 -47,940
Czechia 38,993 2,819 -36,174
Ireland 23,100 14,454 -8,646

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 7
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 6
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 5
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 5

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
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 5 3 -2
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 6 +2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 5 +1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 2 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4 2 -2
Inner London - West 4 2 -2
Lancashire 4 3 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 5 +3
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 4 3 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 4 +2

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) 10,644,431
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,763,096
Air transport 1,178,658
Road transport 167,690
Other 155,594

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) 6,016,516 4,627,915 -1,388,601
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,122,026 641,070 -480,956
Air transport 573,709 604,949 +31,240
Road transport 45,851 121,839 +75,988
Other 80,813 74,781 -6,032

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Purfleet 4,145,157
Dover 1,820,393
Killingholme 1,493,919
London 1,193,708
Eurotunnel 1,084,714

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 £
Purfleet 2,398,332 1,746,825 -651,507
Dover 1,064,028 756,365 -307,663
Killingholme 874,718 619,201 -255,517
London 625,728 567,980 -57,748
Eurotunnel 410,691 674,023 +263,332
Southampton 587,952 430,364 -157,588
Felixstowe 452,595 84,950 -367,645
Dover / Eurotunnel 373,926 21,922 -352,004
East Midlands Airport 140,004 181,304 +41,300
Birmingham Airport 137,485 126,490 -10,995

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 17
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 17
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 10
Other manufacturing 10
Specialised construction activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 15
2025-11 14
2025-10 21
2025-09 13
2025-08 12

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 42
54m+ 39
0-1m 11
15m-54m 9
Other 6

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 £
Kuwait 8,163,553
Czechia 5,001,622
Ireland 4,722,756
Germany 4,487,062
France 2,639,268

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 £
Kuwait 4,709,937 3,453,616 -1,256,321
Czechia 2,661,293 2,340,329 -320,964
Ireland 2,413,244 2,309,512 -103,732
Germany 2,171,551 2,315,511 +143,960
France 1,854,508 784,760 -1,069,748
United States 610,383 315,070 -295,313
Denmark 360,491 356,937 -3,554
Finland 346,200 320,231 -25,969
Poland 277,759 260,766 -16,993
Israel 181,094 251,990 +70,896

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 £
Ireland 8,966
XI 4,823
United States 788
France 85

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 £
Ireland 4,367 4,599 +232
XI 3,307 1,516 -1,791
United States 0 788 +788
France 85 0 -85

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) 18,451,397
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,703,731
Other 482,658
Air transport 281,458

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) 9,796,823 8,654,574 -1,142,249
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,735,549 4,968,182 -1,767,367
Other 280,691 201,967 -78,724
Air transport 118,186 163,272 +45,086

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 11,135,591
London Gateway Port 4,692,262
Avonmouth Docks 4,581,362
Holyhead 2,565,253
Tyne 2,145,530

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 6,034,948 5,100,643 -934,305
London Gateway Port 994,768 3,697,494 +2,702,726
Avonmouth Docks 4,165,136 416,226 -3,748,910
Holyhead 1,250,488 1,314,765 +64,277
Tyne 1,270,050 875,480 -394,570
Immingham Docks 524,129 539,828 +15,699
Southampton 620,467 317,495 -302,972
Heysham 331,052 389,692 +58,640
Fishguard 264,978 250,956 -14,022
Liverpool Docks 352,570 154,039 -198,531

Quick facts

HS code: 731450

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

Description: Metal sheets cut and stretched to form a mesh, used for fencing, construction, or industrial purposes