Import/export HS code 8304: Metal office supplies like filing cabinets, paper trays, and pen holders

Includes items such as filing cabinets, card-index cabinets, paper trays, and desk organizers made of metal, but not office furniture

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 10,328,762
Sweden 587,884
France 400,874
Spain 364,779
United States 305,140

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 5,445,726 4,883,036 -562,690
Sweden 214,349 373,535 +159,186
France 241,221 159,653 -81,568
Spain 115,883 248,896 +133,013
United States 105,739 199,401 +93,662
Netherlands 93,737 200,023 +106,286
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 170,846 59,500 -111,346
Italy 118,602 99,452 -19,150
Germany 123,713 87,589 -36,124
Taiwan 73,085 108,099 +35,014

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 11,433,683
Sweden 575,272
Spain 353,717
United States 247,234
Taiwan 175,804

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 6,075,228 5,358,455 -716,773
Sweden 205,669 369,603 +163,934
Spain 110,501 243,216 +132,715
United States 75,843 171,391 +95,548
Taiwan 67,705 108,099 +40,394
India 75,764 63,818 -11,946
Italy 71,394 46,086 -25,308
United Kingdom 58,849 54,940 -3,909
Finland 80,001 26,169 -53,832
France 75,322 24,423 -50,899

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 32
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 16
Greater Manchester 16
Inner London - East 14
West Yorkshire 12

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 17 23 +6
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 12 10 -2
Greater Manchester 9 11 +2
Inner London - East 9 5 -4
West Yorkshire 6 8 +2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8 5 -3
Essex 6 2 -4
Outer London - East and North East 6 5 -1
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough 4 4 +0
Merseyside 6 5 -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) 9,010,310
Air transport 2,855,540
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,803,311
Other 419,271

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) 4,790,056 4,220,254 -569,802
Air transport 1,519,296 1,336,244 -183,052
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 781,218 1,022,093 +240,875
Other 207,286 211,985 +4,699

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Felixstowe 5,560,347
Southampton 1,337,284
London Heathrow Airport 1,036,217
Dover 931,716
London Gateway Port 920,177

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 2,672,547 2,887,800 +215,253
Southampton 922,428 414,856 -507,572
London Heathrow Airport 699,314 336,903 -362,411
Dover 379,804 551,912 +172,108
London Gateway Port 233,397 686,780 +453,383
Birmingham Airport 446,318 391,480 -54,838
Liverpool Docks 496,759 49,026 -447,733
000 207,286 211,985 +4,699
London 318,930 35,237 -283,693
499 9,155 308,456 +299,301

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 86
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 76
Other manufacturing 9
Manufacture of furniture 8
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 8

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 26
2025-11 30
2025-10 28
2025-09 27
2025-08 34

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 88
54m+ 61
0-1m 29
15m-54m 27
Other 26

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 Arab Emirates 2,071,703
United States 1,075,912
France 1,013,187
Ireland 787,997
Iceland 731,867

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 Arab Emirates 1,264,431 807,272 -457,159
United States 450,222 625,690 +175,468
France 580,094 433,093 -147,001
Ireland 463,845 324,152 -139,693
Iceland 726,675 5,192 -721,483
Canada 167,633 343,964 +176,331
Germany 206,823 78,592 -128,231
South Africa 39,365 209,668 +170,303
Spain 177,125 37,276 -139,849
China 90,938 122,754 +31,816

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 78,995
China 1,869
Taiwan 484

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 1,877 77,118 +75,241
China 80 1,789 +1,709
Taiwan 311 173 -138

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) 4,378,393
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 2,843,479
Air transport 2,357,905
Other 81,685
Road transport 3,582

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) 2,710,868 1,667,525 -1,043,343
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,728,583 1,114,896 -613,687
Air transport 1,388,041 969,864 -418,177
Other 2,499 79,186 +76,687
Road transport 3,582 0 -3,582

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
London Gateway Port 2,148,792
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,950,386
London Heathrow Airport 1,470,947
Southampton 965,122
Middlesbrough 731,185

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 £
London Gateway Port 1,118,996 1,029,796 -89,200
Dover / Eurotunnel 1,166,354 784,032 -382,322
London Heathrow Airport 739,190 731,757 -7,433
Southampton 472,633 492,489 +19,856
Middlesbrough 726,675 4,510 -722,165
Holyhead 277,080 172,980 -104,100
Felixstowe 330,884 100,404 -230,480
East Midlands Airport 219,864 119,178 -100,686
Manchester Airport 237,940 19,643 -218,297
Liverpool Docks 125,887 65,830 -60,057

Quick facts

HS code: 8304

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

Description: Includes items such as filing cabinets, card-index cabinets, paper trays, and desk organizers made of metal, but not office furniture