Import/export HS code 85238010: Unrecorded media

Blank recording media, such as discs or tapes, ready for data or sound recording

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 £
United States 4,723,714
France 279,654
Germany 269,766
Canada 225,710
Netherlands 216,731

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 £
United States 1,764,444 2,959,270 +1,194,826
France 145,625 134,029 -11,596
Germany 51,211 218,555 +167,344
Canada 131,346 94,364 -36,982
Netherlands 77,977 138,754 +60,777
Austria 6,131 147,524 +141,393
Belgium 4,860 140,944 +136,084
Italy 71,253 68,510 -2,743
Switzerland 83,923 45,950 -37,973
Greece 46,915 53,823 +6,908

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 £
United States 4,371,410
Germany 503,477
France 315,131
Canada 255,751
United Kingdom 212,825

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 £
United States 1,712,336 2,659,074 +946,738
Germany 134,144 369,333 +235,189
France 181,745 133,386 -48,359
Canada 141,360 114,391 -26,969
United Kingdom 60,013 152,812 +92,799
Netherlands 48,161 125,973 +77,812
Austria 2,561 145,146 +142,585
Italy 58,952 61,043 +2,091
Czechia 30,763 69,719 +38,956
Malaysia 0 90,349 +90,349

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 22
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 11
Inner London - East 11
Surrey, East and West Sussex 11
Outer London - West and North West 9

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
Inner London - West 13 16 +3
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 7 6 -1
Inner London - East 6 9 +3
Surrey, East and West Sussex 8 8 +0
Outer London - West and North West 4 7 +3
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3 2 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 1 -2
Cheshire 4 0 -4
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 2 -2
Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire 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 £
Air transport 5,157,681
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,233,663
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 604,203
Other 15,065

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 £
Air transport 1,996,378 3,161,303 +1,164,925
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 317,690 915,973 +598,283
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 307,266 296,937 -10,329
Other 4,114 10,951 +6,837

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 1,912,892
London Stansted Airport 1,333,340
London Heathrow Airport 1,274,459
Thamesport 472,086
Birmingham Airport 256,904

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 £
East Midlands Airport 839,407 1,073,485 +234,078
London Stansted Airport 484,754 848,586 +363,832
London Heathrow Airport 585,369 689,090 +103,721
Thamesport 118,912 353,174 +234,262
Birmingham Airport 20,196 236,708 +216,512
Dover 54,613 183,625 +129,012
Southampton 20,504 211,371 +190,867
Manchester Airport 8,100 203,070 +194,970
London Gateway Port 113,061 93,063 -19,998
Eurotunnel 121,661 61,552 -60,109

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 29
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 28
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 14
Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities 12
Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 18
2025-10 32
2025-09 21
2025-08 15
2025-07 18

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 51
54m+ 33
0-1m 18
15m-54m 15
Other 6

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 11,888,206
Germany 3,159,388
Denmark 2,407,261
Australia 1,183,887
Canada 1,048,210

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 6,827,156 5,061,050 -1,766,106
Germany 1,065,281 2,094,107 +1,028,826
Denmark 1,000,582 1,406,679 +406,097
Australia 593,274 590,613 -2,661
Canada 603,032 445,178 -157,854
South Korea 464,900 472,585 +7,685
Netherlands 346,541 372,473 +25,932
Japan 293,178 301,144 +7,966
Singapore 434,330 127,750 -306,580
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 210,364 221,727 +11,363

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 23,444,968
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,557,405
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,551,754
Road transport 46,941

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 12,390,637 11,054,331 -1,336,306
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 525,478 1,031,927 +506,449
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 780,178 771,576 -8,602
Road transport 41,881 5,060 -36,821

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
ZLC 6,317,523
East Midlands Airport 6,227,417
London Stansted Airport 5,730,074
London Heathrow Airport 4,595,394
Dover 766,789

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 £
ZLC 2,518,024 3,799,499 +1,281,475
East Midlands Airport 3,407,579 2,819,838 -587,741
London Stansted Airport 3,908,424 1,821,650 -2,086,774
London Heathrow Airport 2,372,729 2,222,665 -150,064
Dover 363,285 403,504 +40,219
Liverpool Docks 277,059 394,504 +117,445
Southampton 137,813 520,632 +382,819
Dover / Eurotunnel 353,783 299,597 -54,186
Birmingham Airport 189,537 240,753 +51,216
London Gateway Port 72,811 116,403 +43,592

Quick facts

HS code: 85238010

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

Description: Blank recording media, such as discs or tapes, ready for data or sound recording