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 16,919,784
France 14,165,645
Japan 12,685,507
Spain 10,095,348
Netherlands 4,264,568

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 12,339,543 4,580,241 -7,759,302
France 13,490,293 675,352 -12,814,941
Japan 9,708,977 2,976,530 -6,732,447
Spain 985,467 9,109,881 +8,124,414
Netherlands 3,929,938 334,630 -3,595,308
Poland 3,699,964 142,525 -3,557,439
Italy 1,316,780 1,634,383 +317,603
United States 1,319,134 496,648 -822,486
China 626,707 588,450 -38,257
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 18,024,647
Italy 15,031,143
Spain 12,953,214
Japan 12,942,852
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 13,480,157 4,544,490 -8,935,667
Italy 13,390,865 1,640,278 -11,750,587
Spain 3,844,364 9,108,850 +5,264,486
Japan 9,810,384 3,132,468 -6,677,916
Poland 4,207,739 140,118 -4,067,621
United States 1,235,661 508,564 -727,097
China 854,241 466,603 -387,638
Switzerland 497,480 627,129 +129,649
France 403,462 422,387 +18,925
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 3 +0
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) 38,593,646
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 28,746,536
Air transport 3,921,059
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) 21,326,435 17,267,211 -4,059,224
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 24,880,207 3,866,329 -21,013,878
Air transport 2,466,230 1,454,829 -1,011,401
Road transport 400,491 34,258 -366,233
Rail transport 357,301 69,132 -288,169
Other 167,232 52 -167,180

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover 35,929,254
Tyne 8,163,213
Purfleet 4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,954,727
Southampton 2,588,904

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 22,058,765 13,870,489 -8,188,276
Tyne 8,076,201 87,012 -7,989,189
Purfleet 4,235,684 0 -4,235,684
Dover / Eurotunnel 3,663,752 290,975 -3,372,777
Southampton 500,344 2,088,560 +1,588,216
London Heathrow Airport 1,560,157 804,880 -755,277
Harwich 1,438,242 423,228 -1,015,014
Immingham Docks 952,296 817,193 -135,103
London Gateway Port 825,759 906,467 +80,708
London 1,120,663 49,053 -1,071,610

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
2025-11 20
2025-10 12
2025-09 10
2025-08 14
2025-07 17

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 4,506,363
Germany 2,805,432
Italy 1,663,527
Spain 1,253,649
Turkey 1,119,033

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 2,565,444 1,940,919 -624,525
Germany 1,720,578 1,084,854 -635,724
Italy 1,052,789 610,738 -442,051
Spain 1,148,487 105,162 -1,043,325
Turkey 400,881 718,152 +317,271
Mexico 0 1,002,859 +1,002,859
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 41,393
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 19,256 22,137 +2,881
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 £
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 8,574,327
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 8,003,488
Air transport 1,326,796
Other 41,927

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) 4,975,163 3,599,164 -1,375,999
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 4,280,222 3,723,266 -556,956
Air transport 713,095 613,701 -99,394
Other 19,256 22,671 +3,415

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Dover / Eurotunnel 7,363,681
Southampton 3,511,097
London Gateway Port 2,040,038
Felixstowe 1,173,147
Liverpool Docks 1,045,820

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 4,858,704 2,504,977 -2,353,727
Southampton 2,218,309 1,292,788 -925,521
London Gateway Port 1,184,064 855,974 -328,090
Felixstowe 523,959 649,188 +125,229
Liverpool Docks 121,854 923,966 +802,112
Dover 55,294 517,393 +462,099
London 177,884 298,963 +121,079
London Heathrow Airport 150,794 232,970 +82,176
East Midlands Airport 183,142 142,106 -41,036
London Stansted Airport 163,568 134,289 -29,279

Quick facts

HS code: 851521

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

Description: Fully or partly automatic machines for welding metals