Import/export HS code 8449: Machines for making felt or nonwoven materials

Machines used to create or finish felt and nonwoven fabrics, including equipment for making felt hats and hat blocks

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 £
Germany 2,244,875
Italy 919,149
France 516,741
United States 416,975
Austria 377,868

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 £
Germany 568,729 1,676,146 +1,107,417
Italy 95,278 823,871 +728,593
France 268,400 248,341 -20,059
United States 164,089 252,886 +88,797
Austria 226,685 151,183 -75,502
China 155,060 160,009 +4,949
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
India 5,055 144,645 +139,590
Denmark 0 124,000 +124,000
Netherlands 74,381 29,375 -45,006

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 £
Germany 1,679,537
Italy 1,006,827
Portugal 739,510
Austria 448,355
United States 415,693

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 £
Germany 372,702 1,306,835 +934,133
Italy 89,434 917,393 +827,959
Portugal 262,141 477,369 +215,228
Austria 239,790 208,565 -31,225
United States 162,807 252,886 +90,079
China 161,769 112,752 -49,017
France 155,921 95,876 -60,045
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
India 5,055 144,645 +139,590
Spain 43,298 10,435 -32,863

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Yorkshire 14
Greater Manchester 11
Highlands and Islands 5
Inner London - West 5
Merseyside 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
West Yorkshire 12 9 -3
Greater Manchester 6 8 +2
Highlands and Islands 2 4 +2
Inner London - West 3 3 +0
Merseyside 3 4 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1 2 +1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 1 -1
Cheshire 1 2 +1
Lancashire 3 0 -3
Shropshire and Staffordshire 3 2 -1

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) 3,508,328
Air transport 1,562,205
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 339,135
Other 129,629

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) 598,732 2,909,596 +2,310,864
Air transport 825,822 736,383 -89,439
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 145,245 193,890 +48,645
Other 63,176 66,453 +3,277

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 2,699,403
East Midlands Airport 522,636
London Heathrow Airport 413,268
Immingham Docks 386,522
Eurotunnel 338,752

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 441,922 2,257,481 +1,815,559
East Midlands Airport 392,736 129,900 -262,836
London Heathrow Airport 145,584 267,684 +122,100
Immingham Docks 5,672 380,850 +375,178
Eurotunnel 87,471 251,281 +163,810
London Stansted Airport 146,866 184,153 +37,287
Felixstowe 102,254 139,425 +37,171
Manchester Airport 49,568 134,180 +84,612
000 63,176 66,453 +3,277
Birmingham Airport 65,199 20,466 -44,733

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 32
Other manufacturing 13
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 13
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 7
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 14
2025-10 15
2025-09 13
2025-08 11
2025-07 11

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+ 33
1m-15m 30
15m-54m 9
0-1m 8
Other 6

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 £
Egypt 494,996
Italy 298,365
Austria 256,310
United States 179,639
Portugal 154,000

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 £
Egypt 0 494,996 +494,996
Italy 0 298,365 +298,365
Austria 163,544 92,766 -70,778
United States 109,818 69,821 -39,997
Portugal 0 154,000 +154,000
Germany 72,148 51,289 -20,859
Turkey 26,552 0 -26,552
Singapore 0 19,970 +19,970
Ireland 16,207 2,850 -13,357
Romania 14,107 0 -14,107

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) 745,383
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 625,858
Air transport 292,458

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) 162,285 583,098 +420,813
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 114,862 510,996 +396,134
Air transport 180,974 111,484 -69,490

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 690,962
Felixstowe 461,567
East Midlands Airport 111,516
Immingham Docks 85,100
London Gateway Port 75,981

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 142,628 548,334 +405,706
Felixstowe 26,552 435,015 +408,463
East Midlands Airport 80,263 31,253 -49,010
Immingham Docks 50,336 34,764 -15,572
London Gateway Port 0 75,981 +75,981
London Stansted Airport 43,388 25,561 -17,827
London Heathrow Airport 35,437 32,361 -3,076
ZLC 21,886 22,309 +423
Southampton 29,855 0 -29,855
Holyhead 8,059 0 -8,059

Quick facts

HS code: 8449

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

Description: Machines used to create or finish felt and nonwoven fabrics, including equipment for making felt hats and hat blocks