Import/export HS code 851521: Automatic welding machines

Fully or partly automatic machines for welding 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 £
Germany 15,710,771
France 14,173,890
Japan 12,639,029
Spain 9,937,486
Netherlands 4,254,123

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 11,480,884 4,229,887 -7,250,997
France 13,583,023 590,867 -12,992,156
Japan 9,751,770 2,887,259 -6,864,511
Spain 932,059 9,005,427 +8,073,368
Netherlands 3,931,784 322,339 -3,609,445
Poland 3,726,741 115,748 -3,610,993
Italy 1,360,820 1,597,812 +236,992
United States 1,250,581 460,007 -790,574
China 626,324 598,576 -27,748
Switzerland 475,256 661,387 +186,131

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 16,816,566
Italy 15,038,612
Japan 12,896,374
Spain 12,795,352
Poland 4,347,857

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 12,621,498 4,195,068 -8,426,430
Italy 13,437,677 1,600,935 -11,836,742
Japan 9,853,177 3,043,197 -6,809,980
Spain 3,790,956 9,004,396 +5,213,440
Poland 4,234,516 113,341 -4,121,175
United States 1,160,757 478,274 -682,483
China 851,147 470,126 -381,021
Switzerland 497,480 627,129 +129,649
France 488,844 343,187 -145,657
Norway 620,569 108,432 -512,137

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
West Midlands 12
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 8
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6
Shropshire and Staffordshire 6

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 9 8 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 5 7 +2
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 2 5 +3
Northumberland, Durham and Tyne & Wear 6 3 -3
Shropshire and Staffordshire 4 5 +1
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 3 4 +1
Essex 4 2 -2
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 3 4 +1
Inner London - East 1 3 +2
Greater Manchester 2 2 +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) 37,231,397
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 28,724,529
Air transport 3,811,810
Road transport 434,749
Rail transport 426,433

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) 20,451,023 16,780,374 -3,670,649
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 25,042,672 3,681,857 -21,360,815
Air transport 2,399,589 1,412,221 -987,368
Road transport 400,491 34,258 -366,233
Rail transport 357,301 69,132 -288,169
Other 167,244 40 -167,204

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 34,574,283
Tyne 8,163,213
Purfleet 4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,952,998
Southampton 2,593,102

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 21,147,654 13,426,629 -7,721,025
Tyne 8,163,213 0 -8,163,213
Purfleet 4,235,684 0 -4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,665,674 287,324 -3,378,350
Southampton 500,344 2,092,758 +1,592,414
London Heathrow Airport 1,476,705 765,629 -711,076
Harwich 1,465,019 396,451 -1,068,568
Immingham Docks 952,296 817,193 -135,103
London Gateway Port 778,003 925,965 +147,962
London 1,116,170 49,053 -1,067,117

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 22
Manufacture of fabricated metal products, except machinery and equipment 18
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 14
Manufacture of motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers 11
Manufacture of basic metals 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 10
2025-11 20
2025-10 12
2025-09 10
2025-08 14

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+ 42
1m-15m 36
Other 16
0-1m 13
15m-54m 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 5,002,984
Germany 2,653,751
Italy 1,661,279
Turkey 1,119,033
Mexico 1,002,859

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 2,781,302 2,221,682 -559,620
Germany 1,934,142 719,609 -1,214,533
Italy 1,054,340 606,939 -447,401
Turkey 400,881 718,152 +317,271
Mexico 0 1,002,859 +1,002,859
Spain 868,398 92,300 -776,098
Algeria 0 598,757 +598,757
Switzerland 48,296 530,955 +482,659
South Korea 522,000 0 -522,000
Philippines 0 475,551 +475,551

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 40,704
Italy 534

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 19,904 20,800 +896
Italy 0 534 +534

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) 8,491,098
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 8,143,677
Air transport 1,352,131
Other 41,238

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) 4,489,950 4,001,148 -488,802
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 4,879,140 3,264,537 -1,614,603
Air transport 799,220 552,911 -246,309
Other 19,904 21,334 +1,430

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 6,926,945
Southampton 3,511,097
London Gateway Port 2,040,038
Liverpool Docks 1,535,830
Felixstowe 1,175,347

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 4,759,731 2,167,214 -2,592,517
Southampton 2,430,437 1,080,660 -1,349,777
London Gateway Port 1,184,064 855,974 -328,090
Liverpool Docks 123,125 1,412,705 +1,289,580
Felixstowe 523,959 651,388 +127,429
Dover 53,046 518,364 +465,318
London 175,484 298,963 +123,479
London Heathrow Airport 150,794 232,970 +82,176
East Midlands Airport 250,527 72,408 -178,119
London Stansted Airport 178,778 132,404 -46,374

Quick facts

HS code: 851521

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

Description: Fully or partly automatic machines for welding metals