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 9,403,405
China 1,158,926
France 839,525
United States 834,825
Switzerland 824,719

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 5,186,276 4,217,129 -969,147
China 624,764 534,162 -90,602
France 565,198 274,327 -290,871
United States 598,207 236,618 -361,589
Switzerland 589,822 234,897 -354,925
Spain 5,352 375,444 +370,092
Ireland 79,375 81,175 +1,800
Germany 64,098 75,478 +11,380
Norway 66,721 0 -66,721
Belgium 51,905 1,076 -50,829

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 10,075,183
China 1,147,624
United States 834,825
Switzerland 588,066
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 5,552,031 4,523,152 -1,028,879
China 604,085 543,539 -60,546
United States 598,207 236,618 -361,589
Switzerland 457,749 130,317 -327,432
Spain 30,114 373,124 +343,010
France 255,561 69,191 -186,370
Germany 170,658 61,470 -109,188
Belgium 55,477 4,883 -50,594
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 5
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 5 5 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 4 4 +0
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 2 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4 2 -2
Inner London - West 4 2 -2
Lancashire 4 3 -1
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 4 3 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 4 +2
Cheshire 3 3 +0

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) 10,701,911
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,788,881
Air transport 1,181,806
Road transport 167,690
Other 153,247

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) 6,043,450 4,658,461 -1,384,989
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,166,687 622,194 -544,493
Air transport 578,562 603,244 +24,682
Road transport 45,851 121,839 +75,988
Other 81,813 71,434 -10,379

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Purfleet 4,206,299
Dover 1,901,387
Killingholme 1,533,601
London 1,141,026
Eurotunnel 1,033,564

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 2,556,377 1,649,922 -906,455
Dover 1,079,349 822,038 -257,311
Killingholme 852,188 681,413 -170,775
London 549,070 591,956 +42,886
Eurotunnel 399,224 634,340 +235,116
Southampton 625,425 400,420 -225,005
Felixstowe 435,040 109,727 -325,313
Dover / Eurotunnel 375,048 21,922 -353,126
East Midlands Airport 131,422 172,304 +40,882
Birmingham Airport 143,034 127,568 -15,466

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 18
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 17
Other manufacturing 10
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 9
Specialised construction activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 14
2025-10 21
2025-09 13
2025-08 12
2025-07 16

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 43
54m+ 40
0-1m 11
15m-54m 11
Other 5

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 8,316,316
Czechia 5,008,761
Ireland 4,643,301
Germany 4,526,434
France 2,643,866

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 4,750,711 3,565,605 -1,185,106
Czechia 2,635,000 2,373,761 -261,239
Ireland 2,412,048 2,231,253 -180,795
Germany 1,985,341 2,541,093 +555,752
France 1,863,038 780,828 -1,082,210
United States 654,921 286,905 -368,016
Denmark 357,244 341,256 -15,988
Finland 358,112 285,117 -72,995
Poland 228,161 301,345 +73,184
Sweden 274,308 176,892 -97,416

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 £
XU 474,646
Ireland 8,754
XI 4,768
United States 135
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 £
XU 248,683 225,963 -22,720
Ireland 4,228 4,526 +298
XI 3,208 1,560 -1,648
United States 0 135 +135
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) 18,312,538
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 11,895,417
Other 488,388
Air transport 276,948

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) 9,478,270 8,834,268 -644,002
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 6,905,099 4,990,318 -1,914,781
Other 256,204 232,184 -24,020
Air transport 119,058 157,890 +38,832

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 11,196,551
Avonmouth Docks 4,893,414
London Gateway Port 4,445,970
Holyhead 2,506,551
Tyne 2,133,135

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 5,870,063 5,326,488 -543,575
Avonmouth Docks 4,477,188 416,226 -4,060,962
London Gateway Port 695,706 3,750,264 +3,054,558
Holyhead 1,321,302 1,185,249 -136,053
Tyne 1,242,762 890,373 -352,389
Immingham Docks 546,170 508,577 -37,593
Southampton 675,739 287,443 -388,296
Heysham 331,299 374,435 +43,136
Liverpool Docks 342,297 184,963 -157,334
Fishguard 238,101 259,807 +21,706

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