Import/export HS code 7404: Copper waste and scrap

Used or leftover copper materials, such as wires, pipes, and other copper items, ready for recycling

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 £
Ireland 110,385,486
Netherlands 47,614,689
Germany 17,245,357
France 8,644,053
United States 4,744,939

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 £
Ireland 55,776,911 54,608,575 -1,168,336
Netherlands 32,981,592 14,633,097 -18,348,495
Germany 9,184,594 8,060,763 -1,123,831
France 3,453,484 5,190,569 +1,737,085
United States 3,581,848 1,163,091 -2,418,757
Iceland 1,146,776 900,667 -246,109
Belgium 1,183,463 615,132 -568,331
Italy 889,160 846,403 -42,757
Mexico 1,080,282 575,446 -504,836
Kenya 418,589 680,983 +262,394

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 £
Ireland 105,183,277
Netherlands 46,808,261
Germany 17,182,376
France 6,983,859
United States 5,413,806

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 £
Ireland 53,372,011 51,811,266 -1,560,745
Netherlands 32,349,739 14,458,522 -17,891,217
Germany 9,188,198 7,994,178 -1,194,020
France 1,649,327 5,334,532 +3,685,205
United States 3,581,848 1,831,958 -1,749,890
Belgium 2,272,307 216,493 -2,055,814
Iceland 1,146,776 900,667 -246,109
Italy 990,278 846,403 -143,875
United Kingdom 1,004,384 776,774 -227,610
Mexico 1,080,282 272,838 -807,444

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Greater Manchester 8
Shropshire and Staffordshire 6
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 4
South East Wales 4
West Yorkshire 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
Greater Manchester 6 5 -1
Shropshire and Staffordshire 2 4 +2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 3 +0
South East Wales 2 3 +1
West Yorkshire 2 3 +1
Cheshire 2 2 +0
Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 3 0 -3
Inner London - East 3 2 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 2 1 -1
Outer London - East and North East 2 2 +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) 148,983,557
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 48,482,895
Other 5,202,209
Air transport 119,317

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) 83,999,442 64,984,115 -19,015,327
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 27,010,649 21,472,246 -5,538,403
Other 2,404,900 2,797,309 +392,409
Air transport 81,348 37,969 -43,379

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Holyhead 33,280,029
Liverpool Docks 29,300,761
Hull 27,920,807
Dover 25,663,498
Ayr Harbour 20,856,213

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 £
Holyhead 14,779,779 18,500,250 +3,720,471
Liverpool Docks 14,154,048 15,146,713 +992,665
Hull 20,786,183 7,134,624 -13,651,559
Dover 11,961,215 13,702,283 +1,741,068
Ayr Harbour 11,007,914 9,848,299 -1,159,615
Eurotunnel 11,957,972 6,579,362 -5,378,610
Heysham 8,821,239 6,885,383 -1,935,856
Felixstowe 4,628,917 1,777,895 -2,851,022
000 2,404,900 2,797,309 +392,409
Immingham Docks 1,860,666 2,156,095 +295,429

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 25
Waste collection, treatment and disposal activities; materials recovery 14
Manufacture of basic metals 13
Other manufacturing 5
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 5

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 11
2025-11 14
2025-10 14
2025-09 9
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
54m+ 27
1m-15m 19
15m-54m 14
Other 8
0-1m 7

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 £
China 1,171,420,171
India 270,096,061
Germany 184,078,672
Belgium 180,471,821
Japan 150,550,017

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 £
China 540,586,134 630,834,037 +90,247,903
India 130,944,050 139,152,011 +8,207,961
Germany 90,347,637 93,731,035 +3,383,398
Belgium 95,856,254 84,615,567 -11,240,687
Japan 94,239,892 56,310,125 -37,929,767
South Korea 60,619,680 67,526,925 +6,907,245
Spain 51,643,133 72,295,453 +20,652,320
Greece 53,861,897 36,356,335 -17,505,562
France 32,398,367 28,019,540 -4,378,827
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 26,717,326 18,771,601 -7,945,725

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 2,134,203

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 700,505 1,433,698 +733,193

Export volume by transport

What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.

Top 5 values

Transport £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,983,552,789
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 662,401,920
Road transport 3,922,669
Other 2,134,203
Air transport 155,689

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 £
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 934,007,804 1,049,544,985 +115,537,181
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 382,199,577 280,202,343 -101,997,234
Road transport 3,791,547 131,122 -3,660,425
Other 700,505 1,433,698 +733,193
Air transport 125,847 29,842 -96,005

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 853,113,688
London Gateway Port 653,820,507
Dover / Eurotunnel 235,750,470
Liverpool Docks 171,177,331
Southampton 148,121,404

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 £
Felixstowe 581,134,099 271,979,589 -309,154,510
London Gateway Port 165,251,379 488,569,128 +323,317,749
Dover / Eurotunnel 124,907,525 110,842,945 -14,064,580
Liverpool Docks 69,847,673 101,329,658 +31,481,985
Southampton 77,699,705 70,421,699 -7,278,006
Immingham Docks 62,876,613 62,532,812 -343,801
Greenock 44,171,427 36,722,711 -7,448,716
London 37,775,027 42,588,443 +4,813,416
Tyne 32,462,331 23,636,044 -8,826,287
Grangemouth Docks 13,432,803 36,862,245 +23,429,442

Quick facts

HS code: 7404

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

Description: Used or leftover copper materials, such as wires, pipes, and other copper items, ready for recycling