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 5,076,147
Netherlands 3,000,767
France 1,929,683
Spain 1,058,692
United States 389,366

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 2,521,028 2,555,119 +34,091
Netherlands 1,430,840 1,569,927 +139,087
France 837,171 1,092,512 +255,341
Spain 512,623 546,069 +33,446
United States 247,420 141,946 -105,474
Taiwan 194,045 187,595 -6,450
Germany 163,811 159,151 -4,660
Egypt 108,870 0 -108,870
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 40,759 63,586 +22,827
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 5,643,215
Mexico 4,432,580
Spain 1,069,289
Taiwan 575,214
United States 396,635

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 2,768,432 2,874,783 +106,351
Mexico 2,018,201 2,414,379 +396,178
Spain 519,252 550,037 +30,785
Taiwan 347,712 227,502 -120,210
United States 234,845 161,790 -73,055
Germany 227,602 121,199 -106,403
United Kingdom 39,570 30,520 -9,050
Malaysia 27,372 30,760 +3,388
Japan 36,411 11,184 -25,227
Netherlands 41,924 0 -41,924

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 9
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 8
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 7
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 7
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 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
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5 6 +1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 5 +0
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 6 2 -4
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 6 4 -2
South East Wales 4 3 -1
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 4 4 +0
Essex 5 4 -1
Inner London - East 5 2 -3
West Yorkshire 4 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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 5,104,549
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 3,926,796
Air transport 3,663,913
Other 139,241
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) 2,402,086 2,702,463 +300,377
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,982,558 1,944,238 -38,320
Air transport 1,874,459 1,789,454 -85,005
Other 97,609 41,632 -55,977
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 1,903,621
Dover 1,771,329
Felixstowe 1,491,245
East Midlands Airport 960,388
London Heathrow Airport 958,210

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 813,177 1,090,444 +277,267
Dover 515,197 1,256,132 +740,935
Felixstowe 959,576 531,669 -427,907
East Midlands Airport 721,793 238,595 -483,198
London Heathrow Airport 461,417 496,793 +35,376
Southampton 472,193 420,444 -51,749
Dover / Eurotunnel 758,848 123,024 -635,824
London Gateway Port 100,084 653,239 +553,155
London Stansted Airport 222,028 420,574 +198,546
Birmingham Airport 171,241 211,930 +40,689

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 52
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
2025-11 26
2025-10 25
2025-09 30
2025-08 27
2025-07 26

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 23
Other 15
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 670,290
Germany 345,361
Ireland 300,151
China 165,096
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 201,688 468,602 +266,914
Germany 260,020 85,341 -174,679
Ireland 125,805 174,346 +48,541
China 109,243 55,853 -53,390
Mexico 148,481 1,041 -147,440
Saudi Arabia 11,641 130,286 +118,645
United States 51,998 84,639 +32,641
Netherlands 112,606 14,767 -97,839
Italy 75,334 18,831 -56,503
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 31,133
Taiwan 2,395
XU 1,149
XI 836
Ireland 789

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 12,061 19,072 +7,011
Taiwan 1,175 1,220 +45
XU 799 350 -449
XI 0 836 +836
Ireland 72 717 +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 1,368,714
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,169,327
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 302,372
Other 36,441
Road transport 6,795

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 728,717 639,997 -88,720
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 501,602 667,725 +166,123
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 214,874 87,498 -127,376
Other 14,107 22,334 +8,227
Road transport 6,795 0 -6,795

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 888,475
East Midlands Airport 742,022
London Heathrow Airport 368,658
London Gateway Port 203,610
ZLC 158,987

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 380,076 508,399 +128,323
East Midlands Airport 446,054 295,968 -150,086
London Heathrow Airport 125,176 243,482 +118,306
London Gateway Port 181,215 22,395 -158,820
ZLC 108,454 50,533 -57,921
Holyhead 53,045 99,056 +46,011
London Stansted Airport 35,701 23,350 -12,351
Southampton 3,153 53,563 +50,410
000 14,107 22,334 +8,227
Felixstowe 31,170 4,282 -26,888

Quick facts

HS code: 851511

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

Description: Handheld tools used for soldering metals