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 2,269,952
Italy 915,025
France 537,071
United States 395,483
Austria 356,771

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 573,762 1,696,190 +1,122,428
Italy 87,482 827,543 +740,061
France 386,684 150,387 -236,297
United States 149,340 246,143 +96,803
Austria 277,665 79,106 -198,559
China 74,295 162,698 +88,403
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
India 12,719 136,981 +124,262
Denmark 0 124,000 +124,000
Netherlands 79,264 26,751 -52,513

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 1,670,412
Italy 1,034,967
Portugal 754,123
Austria 427,258
United States 394,201

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 412,771 1,257,641 +844,870
Italy 81,638 953,329 +871,691
Portugal 271,564 482,559 +210,995
Austria 337,710 89,548 -248,162
United States 148,058 246,143 +98,085
France 232,561 19,236 -213,325
Greece 0 205,236 +205,236
China 81,004 119,424 +38,420
India 12,719 136,981 +124,262
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 13
Greater Manchester 10
Highlands and Islands 5
Inner London - West 5
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 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 11 10 -1
Greater Manchester 6 6 +0
Highlands and Islands 2 4 +2
Inner London - West 4 2 -2
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1 3 +2
Merseyside 2 4 +2
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) 3,571,455
Air transport 1,452,743
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 253,864
Other 135,560

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) 809,508 2,761,947 +1,952,439
Air transport 784,651 668,092 -116,559
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 57,458 196,406 +138,948
Other 68,059 67,501 -558

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 2,730,324
East Midlands Airport 513,705
Immingham Docks 386,522
Eurotunnel 365,585
London Heathrow Airport 347,349

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 587,719 2,142,605 +1,554,886
East Midlands Airport 378,427 135,278 -243,149
Immingham Docks 5,672 380,850 +375,178
Eurotunnel 148,544 217,041 +68,497
London Heathrow Airport 91,498 255,851 +164,353
London Stansted Airport 166,426 127,292 -39,134
Manchester Airport 49,568 134,180 +84,612
Felixstowe 26,169 143,408 +117,239
000 68,059 67,501 -558
Birmingham Airport 72,863 12,802 -60,061

Importer companies by SIC division

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

Top 5 values

SIC Companies
Manufacture of textiles 31
Other manufacturing 13
Wholesale trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 12
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 7
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 6

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 13
2025-11 14
2025-10 15
2025-09 13
2025-08 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 28
15m-54m 9
0-1m 8
Other 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 £
Egypt 494,996
Italy 299,461
Austria 256,310
United States 165,842
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 0 299,461 +299,461
Austria 213,106 43,204 -169,902
United States 93,755 72,087 -21,668
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) 603,089
Air transport 295,401

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) 211,847 533,536 +321,689
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 92,093 510,996 +418,903
Air transport 177,360 118,041 -59,319

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 109,220
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 192,190 498,772 +306,582
Felixstowe 26,552 435,015 +408,463
East Midlands Airport 76,649 32,571 -44,078
Immingham Docks 50,336 34,764 -15,572
London Gateway Port 0 75,981 +75,981
London Stansted Airport 43,388 30,800 -12,588
London Heathrow Airport 35,437 32,361 -3,076
ZLC 21,886 22,309 +423
Southampton 15,205 0 -15,205
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