Import/export HS code 851511: Soldering irons and guns

Handheld tools used for soldering metals

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 5,190,940
Netherlands 2,968,681
France 1,915,427
Spain 1,003,053
United States 375,843

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 2,565,833 2,625,107 +59,274
Netherlands 1,388,597 1,580,084 +191,487
France 921,027 994,400 +73,373
Spain 445,610 557,443 +111,833
United States 231,880 143,963 -87,917
Germany 176,351 143,238 -33,113
Taiwan 131,500 165,138 +33,638
Egypt 108,870 0 -108,870
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 48,658 53,321 +4,663
Malaysia 27,372 30,760 +3,388

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 5,745,883
Mexico 4,392,522
Spain 1,013,650
Taiwan 499,234
United States 378,899

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 2,823,090 2,922,793 +99,703
Mexico 2,050,415 2,342,107 +291,692
Spain 452,239 561,411 +109,172
Taiwan 296,377 202,857 -93,520
United States 221,396 157,503 -63,893
Germany 242,113 108,071 -134,042
United Kingdom 39,570 31,520 -8,050
Malaysia 27,372 34,034 +6,662
Japan 35,016 11,184 -23,832
Switzerland 24,435 17,709 -6,726

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 9
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 7
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 7
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7

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 Midlands 8 7 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 5 +0
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 5 +1
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 4 6 +2
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6 2 -4
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 4 -2
South East Wales 4 3 -1
Essex 5 4 -1
West Yorkshire 4 5 +1
Cheshire 4 3 -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) 5,062,413
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,014,199
Air transport 3,547,060
Other 129,578
Road transport 9,788

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) 2,466,746 2,595,667 +128,921
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,892,663 2,121,536 +228,873
Air transport 1,869,961 1,677,099 -192,862
Other 95,383 34,195 -61,188
Road transport 0 9,788 +9,788

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Eurotunnel 1,861,723
Dover 1,820,928
Felixstowe 1,449,310
Southampton 938,859
London Heathrow Airport 933,694

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 £
Eurotunnel 881,924 979,799 +97,875
Dover 572,280 1,248,648 +676,368
Felixstowe 814,156 635,154 -179,002
Southampton 512,263 426,596 -85,667
London Heathrow Airport 483,590 450,104 -33,486
East Midlands Airport 659,639 195,520 -464,119
London Gateway Port 129,007 705,511 +576,504
Dover / Eurotunnel 649,727 175,543 -474,184
London Stansted Airport 205,223 448,481 +243,258
Birmingham Airport 197,339 174,195 -23,144

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 54
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 25
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 10
Other manufacturing 7
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 6

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 21
2025-11 26
2025-10 25
2025-09 30
2025-08 27

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 55
54m+ 33
0-1m 25
Other 16
15m-54m 11

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 £
France 664,892
Germany 331,446
Ireland 317,800
China 166,181
Mexico 149,522

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 £
France 209,008 455,884 +246,876
Germany 247,140 84,306 -162,834
Ireland 132,106 185,694 +53,588
China 113,539 52,642 -60,897
Mexico 148,481 1,041 -147,440
Saudi Arabia 10,765 130,286 +119,521
United States 51,811 86,724 +34,913
Netherlands 110,744 13,568 -97,176
Italy 69,702 18,831 -50,871
Poland 17,693 43,869 +26,176

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 30,288
Taiwan 2,395
XI 836
Ireland 789
Italy 94

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 13,205 17,083 +3,878
Taiwan 1,175 1,220 +45
XI 0 836 +836
Ireland 717 72 -645
Italy 0 94 +94
Mexico 0 45 +45

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 1,353,197
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,165,652
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 300,681
Other 35,596
Road transport 4,956

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 737,062 616,135 -120,927
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 504,115 661,537 +157,422
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 217,478 83,203 -134,275
Other 15,896 19,700 +3,804
Road transport 4,956 0 -4,956

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 863,664
East Midlands Airport 737,906
London Heathrow Airport 363,364
London Gateway Port 201,919
ZLC 158,057

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 376,238 487,426 +111,188
East Midlands Airport 463,557 274,349 -189,208
London Heathrow Airport 117,911 245,453 +127,542
London Gateway Port 183,819 18,100 -165,719
ZLC 116,792 41,265 -75,527
Holyhead 52,477 103,582 +51,105
London Stansted Airport 32,848 28,404 -4,444
Southampton 3,153 53,563 +50,410
Liverpool Docks 10,297 36,825 +26,528
000 15,896 19,700 +3,804

Quick facts

HS code: 851511

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

Description: Handheld tools used for soldering metals