Import/export HS code 8203: Hand tools like files, pliers, and shears
Common hand tools including files, rasps, pliers, tweezers, metal-cutting shears, and pipe-cutters
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 | 48,546,792 |
| Germany | 29,686,973 |
| United States | 24,986,695 |
| France | 15,193,947 |
| Netherlands | 10,238,118 |
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 | 24,125,163 | 24,421,629 | +296,466 |
| Germany | 14,844,862 | 14,842,111 | -2,751 |
| United States | 14,712,495 | 10,274,200 | -4,438,295 |
| France | 7,469,766 | 7,724,181 | +254,415 |
| Netherlands | 4,967,149 | 5,270,969 | +303,820 |
| Taiwan | 5,452,889 | 4,520,749 | -932,140 |
| Switzerland | 1,511,548 | 1,451,528 | -60,020 |
| Belgium | 1,740,231 | 1,131,659 | -608,572 |
| Japan | 1,143,752 | 1,374,190 | +230,438 |
| Italy | 1,190,808 | 958,697 | -232,111 |
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 | 58,530,220 |
| Germany | 29,209,328 |
| United States | 21,704,518 |
| Taiwan | 12,434,232 |
| Switzerland | 7,740,278 |
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 | 29,047,523 | 29,482,697 | +435,174 |
| Germany | 15,005,436 | 14,203,892 | -801,544 |
| United States | 12,767,687 | 8,936,831 | -3,830,856 |
| Taiwan | 6,853,357 | 5,580,875 | -1,272,482 |
| Switzerland | 3,413,250 | 4,327,028 | +913,778 |
| India | 2,446,963 | 2,285,661 | -161,302 |
| France | 2,319,322 | 2,150,887 | -168,435 |
| Sweden | 2,188,529 | 1,939,508 | -249,021 |
| Spain | 1,982,637 | 1,697,414 | -285,223 |
| Japan | 1,444,802 | 1,803,630 | +358,828 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Inner London - West | 84 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 78 |
| West Midlands | 72 |
| Greater Manchester | 67 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 63 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner London - West | 58 | 55 | -3 |
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 56 | 60 | +4 |
| West Midlands | 55 | 49 | -6 |
| Greater Manchester | 45 | 46 | +1 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 52 | 43 | -9 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 50 | 37 | -13 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 41 | 39 | -2 |
| Inner London - East | 36 | 30 | -6 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 41 | 39 | -2 |
| Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire | 40 | 34 | -6 |
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) | 71,330,940 |
| Air transport | 50,274,794 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 37,932,677 |
| Other | 2,583,901 |
| Road transport | 361,716 |
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) | 37,873,000 | 33,457,940 | -4,415,060 |
| Air transport | 25,436,632 | 24,838,162 | -598,470 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 19,039,033 | 18,893,644 | -145,389 |
| Other | 1,500,920 | 1,082,981 | -417,939 |
| Road transport | 200,114 | 161,602 | -38,512 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Felixstowe | 31,640,817 |
| Southampton | 22,887,810 |
| Birmingham Airport | 16,093,543 |
| Dover | 13,875,489 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 10,892,775 |
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 | 17,692,916 | 13,947,901 | -3,745,015 |
| Southampton | 13,085,734 | 9,802,076 | -3,283,658 |
| Birmingham Airport | 6,636,430 | 9,457,113 | +2,820,683 |
| Dover | 6,336,865 | 7,538,624 | +1,201,759 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 6,177,151 | 4,715,624 | -1,461,527 |
| East Midlands Airport | 4,321,510 | 4,031,808 | -289,702 |
| London Gateway Port | 2,162,328 | 5,145,536 | +2,983,208 |
| London | 4,002,584 | 2,881,495 | -1,121,089 |
| London Stansted Airport | 3,686,875 | 2,363,812 | -1,323,063 |
| Eurotunnel | 2,864,098 | 2,944,293 | +80,195 |
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 | 491 |
| Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles | 257 |
| Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment | 81 |
| Other manufacturing | 76 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 59 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2025-11 | 252 |
| 2025-10 | 290 |
| 2025-09 | 234 |
| 2025-08 | 258 |
| 2025-07 | 256 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| DRAPER TOOLS LIMITED | 119 |
| GLENAIR UK LIMITED | 119 |
| JACK SEALEY LIMITED | 119 |
| SNAP-ON U.K. HOLDINGS LIMITED | 119 |
| TWEEZERMAN UK LTD | 119 |
| CARL KAMMERLING INTERNATIONAL LIMITED | 118 |
| IDEAL INDUSTRIES LIMITED | 118 |
| ROLSON TOOLS LIMITED | 118 |
| THE TOOL CONNECTION LIMITED | 118 |
| TOOLBANK LIMITED | 117 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 1m-15m | 531 |
| 54m+ | 405 |
| 15m-54m | 168 |
| 0-1m | 149 |
| Other | 114 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| United States | 9,253,412 |
| Germany | 6,224,314 |
| France | 5,371,052 |
| Ireland | 3,856,720 |
| Netherlands | 3,400,617 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4,065,602 | 5,187,810 | +1,122,208 |
| Germany | 2,992,386 | 3,231,928 | +239,542 |
| France | 2,686,250 | 2,684,802 | -1,448 |
| Ireland | 1,892,693 | 1,964,027 | +71,334 |
| Netherlands | 1,980,391 | 1,420,226 | -560,165 |
| Australia | 1,309,420 | 756,359 | -553,061 |
| Belgium | 1,062,341 | 950,035 | -112,306 |
| Italy | 752,023 | 460,662 | -291,361 |
| China | 601,027 | 574,785 | -26,242 |
| India | 679,943 | 410,534 | -269,409 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| China | 357,717 |
| XU | 214,008 |
| Taiwan | 59,442 |
| XI | 41,351 |
| Austria | 31,166 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| China | 175,221 | 182,496 | +7,275 |
| XU | 85,588 | 128,420 | +42,832 |
| Taiwan | 26,109 | 33,333 | +7,224 |
| XI | 26,997 | 14,354 | -12,643 |
| Austria | 30,133 | 1,033 | -29,100 |
| Germany | 24,434 | 6,714 | -17,720 |
| Ireland | 9,778 | 12,554 | +2,776 |
| United States | 10,125 | 9,303 | -822 |
| India | 7,395 | 3,229 | -4,166 |
| Italy | 2,011 | 7,138 | +5,127 |
Export volume by transport
What this shows: Export value by transport mode used to ship goods from the UK.
Top 5 values
| Transport | £ |
|---|---|
| Air transport | 19,755,185 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 18,443,461 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 11,398,449 |
| Other | 820,287 |
| Road transport | 229,335 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air transport | 9,942,108 | 9,813,077 | -129,031 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 9,502,874 | 8,940,587 | -562,287 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 6,990,396 | 4,408,053 | -2,582,343 |
| Other | 408,996 | 411,291 | +2,295 |
| Road transport | 228,229 | 1,106 | -227,123 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 8,845,868 |
| East Midlands Airport | 8,756,196 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 5,638,827 |
| London Gateway Port | 4,824,899 |
| Dover | 3,750,898 |
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 | 4,804,632 | 4,041,236 | -763,396 |
| East Midlands Airport | 4,480,423 | 4,275,773 | -204,650 |
| London Heathrow Airport | 2,580,264 | 3,058,563 | +478,299 |
| London Gateway Port | 3,297,610 | 1,527,289 | -1,770,321 |
| Dover | 2,256,993 | 1,493,905 | -763,088 |
| Liverpool Docks | 1,647,462 | 1,058,982 | -588,480 |
| Immingham Docks | 1,390,071 | 1,243,180 | -146,891 |
| ZLC | 1,430,626 | 1,189,368 | -241,258 |
| Southampton | 708,179 | 1,214,940 | +506,761 |
| Holyhead | 853,083 | 970,126 | +117,043 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
Quick facts
HS code: 8203
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Common hand tools including files, rasps, pliers, tweezers, metal-cutting shears, and pipe-cutters