Import/export HS code 8440: Bookbinding machines

Machines used to bind books, including sewing, stapling, and folding machines

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 £
Switzerland 12,062,024
Germany 8,957,553
Japan 6,409,385
Italy 2,757,241
Netherlands 2,557,113

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 £
Switzerland 8,326,515 3,735,509 -4,591,006
Germany 5,000,566 3,956,987 -1,043,579
Japan 3,139,117 3,270,268 +131,151
Italy 704,651 2,052,590 +1,347,939
Netherlands 953,480 1,603,633 +650,153
Latvia 1,713,646 714,536 -999,110
Slovakia 1,104,334 939,198 -165,136
United States 1,418,221 413,111 -1,005,110
China 635,281 831,543 +196,262
Canada 743,911 701,406 -42,505

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 £
Switzerland 11,648,287
Germany 8,880,056
Japan 8,538,202
Italy 3,286,409
Latvia 2,532,382

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 £
Switzerland 8,047,764 3,600,523 -4,447,241
Germany 5,196,285 3,683,771 -1,512,514
Japan 4,066,548 4,471,654 +405,106
Italy 879,419 2,406,990 +1,527,571
Latvia 1,436,343 1,096,039 -340,304
Slovakia 1,114,022 950,046 -163,976
China 961,934 1,099,576 +137,642
United States 1,605,248 442,346 -1,162,902
Canada 714,383 699,763 -14,620
Portugal 662,959 492,966 -169,993

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 17
Inner London - West 16
West Yorkshire 11
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 10
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 8

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
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 13 11 -2
Inner London - West 11 10 -1
West Yorkshire 7 10 +3
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 6 +0
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 7 +2
Surrey, East and West Sussex 8 4 -4
Cheshire 7 4 -3
Greater Manchester 5 5 +0
Kent 7 3 -4
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 4 +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) 19,978,880
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 12,308,436
Air transport 7,045,129
Road transport 6,736,615
Other 1,540,282

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) 9,568,643 10,410,237 +841,594
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 7,217,576 5,090,860 -2,126,716
Air transport 3,444,770 3,600,359 +155,589
Road transport 5,478,829 1,257,786 -4,221,043
Other 1,091,372 448,910 -642,462
Rail transport 61,906 94,352 +32,446

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 10,423,446
ZLC 8,541,510
Southampton 4,062,782
Thamesport 2,583,002
London Heathrow Airport 2,576,445

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 £
Dover 4,359,535 6,063,911 +1,704,376
ZLC 5,854,351 2,687,159 -3,167,192
Southampton 2,117,685 1,945,097 -172,588
Thamesport 1,763,871 819,131 -944,740
London Heathrow Airport 1,188,983 1,387,462 +198,479
Felixstowe 976,537 1,343,618 +367,081
London Stansted Airport 964,757 940,482 -24,275
Eurotunnel 798,498 1,005,380 +206,882
Harwich 841,372 792,858 -48,514
000 1,091,372 448,910 -642,462

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 44
Printing and reproduction of recorded media 35
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 21
Manufacture of paper and paper products 15
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 15

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 25
2025-11 21
2025-10 38
2025-09 34
2025-08 39

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 65
54m+ 58
0-1m 24
15m-54m 17
Other 12

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 12,951,855
Netherlands 3,402,481
India 2,722,961
Germany 2,423,380
Latvia 2,302,801

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 7,248,671 5,703,184 -1,545,487
Netherlands 2,615,447 787,034 -1,828,413
India 1,944,037 778,924 -1,165,113
Germany 1,424,150 999,230 -424,920
Latvia 704,965 1,597,836 +892,871
France 1,016,840 613,951 -402,889
United Arab Emirates 620,185 678,672 +58,487
Ireland 510,684 744,903 +234,219
Brazil 924,656 236,004 -688,652
South Africa 395,999 455,537 +59,538

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) 21,306,131
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 13,230,394
Air transport 8,085,289
Road transport 99,713
Other 102

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) 13,394,952 7,911,179 -5,483,773
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 7,933,606 5,296,788 -2,636,818
Air transport 3,712,273 4,373,016 +660,743
Road transport 99,713 0 -99,713
Other 24 78 +54

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 8,583,989
Southampton 7,903,797
Felixstowe 5,568,982
London Gateway Port 5,315,410
London Heathrow Airport 3,105,478

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 4,502,989 4,081,000 -421,989
Southampton 5,060,314 2,843,483 -2,216,831
Felixstowe 3,852,042 1,716,940 -2,135,102
London Gateway Port 3,669,405 1,646,005 -2,023,400
London Heathrow Airport 859,117 2,246,361 +1,387,244
East Midlands Airport 1,517,025 1,230,119 -286,906
Grangemouth Docks 1,475,886 638,418 -837,468
Liverpool Docks 740,589 1,302,822 +562,233
ZLC 930,602 716,571 -214,031
Immingham Docks 362,954 302,373 -60,581

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 8440

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

Description: Machines used to bind books, including sewing, stapling, and folding machines