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 5,125,652
France 285,090
Netherlands 277,250
Germany 269,766
Canada 220,957

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 1,892,950 3,232,702 +1,339,752
France 144,609 140,481 -4,128
Netherlands 93,820 183,430 +89,610
Germany 51,211 218,555 +167,344
Canada 120,940 100,017 -20,923
Italy 70,273 119,919 +49,646
Austria 5,158 177,202 +172,044
Belgium 6,418 144,949 +138,531
Switzerland 83,923 45,950 -37,973
Greece 53,604 54,131 +527

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 4,726,537
Germany 546,205
France 325,746
Canada 249,491
Netherlands 207,940

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 1,837,638 2,888,899 +1,051,261
Germany 135,205 411,000 +275,795
France 184,534 141,212 -43,322
Canada 131,666 117,825 -13,841
Netherlands 67,997 139,943 +71,946
United Kingdom 50,030 152,812 +102,782
Austria 2,561 170,661 +168,100
Italy 57,935 100,844 +42,909
Czechia 37,999 94,301 +56,302
Malaysia 0 92,064 +92,064

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Inner London - West 21
Inner London - East 11
Surrey, East and West Sussex 11
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 10
Outer London - West and North West 10

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 11 16 +5
Inner London - East 6 9 +3
Surrey, East and West Sussex 8 8 +0
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 6 6 +0
Outer London - West and North West 5 7 +2
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 3 2 -1
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 3 2 -1
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 4 2 -2
Cheshire 3 0 -3
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 5,600,291
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,320,345
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 628,930
Other 14,958

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 2,015,878 3,584,413 +1,568,535
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 433,010 887,335 +454,325
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 292,909 336,021 +43,112
Other 4,125 10,833 +6,708

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
East Midlands Airport 2,018,789
London Stansted Airport 1,591,436
London Heathrow Airport 1,328,504
Thamesport 535,040
Birmingham Airport 281,476

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 890,476 1,128,313 +237,837
London Stansted Airport 497,344 1,094,092 +596,748
London Heathrow Airport 534,521 793,983 +259,462
Thamesport 228,062 306,978 +78,916
Birmingham Airport 26,885 254,591 +227,706
Dover 53,640 214,331 +160,691
Southampton 18,674 218,609 +199,935
London Gateway Port 121,061 103,383 -17,678
Manchester Airport 8,100 203,070 +194,970
Eurotunnel 121,661 67,115 -54,546

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 27
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 26
Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities 13
Office administrative, office support and other business support activities 13
Computer programming, consultancy and related activities 7

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2026-01 22
2025-11 18
2025-10 32
2025-09 21
2025-08 15

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 47
54m+ 34
0-1m 18
15m-54m 15
Other 5

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 12,117,794
Germany 3,250,061
Denmark 2,436,737
Australia 1,196,984
Canada 1,042,371

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 6,786,809 5,330,985 -1,455,824
Germany 1,112,078 2,137,983 +1,025,905
Denmark 1,057,671 1,379,066 +321,395
Australia 603,782 593,202 -10,580
Canada 603,703 438,668 -165,035
South Korea 479,213 448,660 -30,553
Netherlands 378,870 368,954 -9,916
Japan 291,466 322,835 +31,369
Singapore 424,498 131,578 -292,920
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 238,059 218,949 -19,110

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 23,875,746
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 1,604,536
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 1,551,710
Road transport 43,997

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 12,541,954 11,333,792 -1,208,162
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 549,212 1,055,324 +506,112
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 810,155 741,555 -68,600
Road transport 38,937 5,060 -33,877

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
ZLC 6,513,268
East Midlands Airport 6,120,243
London Stansted Airport 5,612,216
London Heathrow Airport 5,050,941
Dover 752,344

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 2,742,096 3,771,172 +1,029,076
East Midlands Airport 3,442,631 2,677,612 -765,019
London Stansted Airport 3,815,734 1,796,482 -2,019,252
London Heathrow Airport 2,294,190 2,756,751 +462,561
Dover 382,467 369,877 -12,590
Liverpool Docks 277,059 396,104 +119,045
Dover / Eurotunnel 364,448 302,839 -61,609
Southampton 161,547 483,176 +321,629
Birmingham Airport 235,975 194,915 -41,060
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