Import/export HS code 8540: Vacuum tubes and valves
Includes vacuum tubes, cathode ray tubes, and other electronic valves
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 | 35,783,735 |
| Netherlands | 19,271,443 |
| France | 17,270,321 |
| Japan | 11,981,706 |
| China | 9,755,114 |
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 | 19,073,243 | 16,710,492 | -2,362,751 |
| Netherlands | 5,851,663 | 13,419,780 | +7,568,117 |
| France | 9,105,508 | 8,164,813 | -940,695 |
| Japan | 6,631,461 | 5,350,245 | -1,281,216 |
| China | 4,507,807 | 5,247,307 | +739,500 |
| Germany | 2,862,043 | 2,968,645 | +106,602 |
| South Korea | 2,016,184 | 864,287 | -1,151,897 |
| Saudi Arabia | 681,722 | 2,043,598 | +1,361,876 |
| Italy | 615,404 | 1,539,993 | +924,589 |
| Belgium | 837,338 | 762,710 | -74,628 |
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 | 31,037,676 |
| France | 20,953,012 |
| United Kingdom | 15,876,579 |
| Japan | 12,746,357 |
| China | 11,313,376 |
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 | 17,034,281 | 14,003,395 | -3,030,886 |
| France | 10,162,595 | 10,790,417 | +627,822 |
| United Kingdom | 7,487,094 | 8,389,485 | +902,391 |
| Japan | 6,900,349 | 5,846,008 | -1,054,341 |
| China | 5,514,329 | 5,799,047 | +284,718 |
| Netherlands | 2,636,925 | 7,689,298 | +5,052,373 |
| Italy | 845,104 | 3,434,713 | +2,589,609 |
| Germany | 1,641,381 | 1,610,436 | -30,945 |
| Thailand | 546,216 | 828,354 | +282,138 |
| Slovakia | 692,136 | 478,752 | -213,384 |
Importers across UK regions
What this shows: Number of importing companies by UK ITL2 region.
Top 5 values
| UK region | Companies |
|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 36 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 30 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 28 |
| Inner London - West | 27 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 22 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire | 31 | 22 | -9 |
| Surrey, East and West Sussex | 25 | 19 | -6 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 16 | 18 | +2 |
| Inner London - West | 20 | 19 | -1 |
| Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire | 17 | 15 | -2 |
| Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire | 10 | 12 | +2 |
| Outer London - West and North West | 12 | 10 | -2 |
| Essex | 15 | 7 | -8 |
| Greater Manchester | 11 | 9 | -2 |
| Cambridgeshire and Peterborough | 9 | 6 | -3 |
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 | 96,148,664 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 11,165,354 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 7,379,970 |
| Other | 106,917 |
| Road transport | 12,679 |
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 | 47,034,271 | 49,114,393 | +2,080,122 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 5,151,554 | 6,013,800 | +862,246 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 2,547,469 | 4,832,501 | +2,285,032 |
| Other | 67,978 | 38,939 | -29,039 |
| Road transport | 8,247 | 4,432 | -3,815 |
Import volume by port
What this shows: Import value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 41,871,294 |
| London Stansted Airport | 24,386,556 |
| East Midlands Airport | 21,772,021 |
| Southampton | 3,554,904 |
| Eurotunnel | 3,487,939 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 21,221,508 | 20,649,786 | -571,722 |
| London Stansted Airport | 11,046,839 | 13,339,717 | +2,292,878 |
| East Midlands Airport | 11,271,563 | 10,500,458 | -771,105 |
| Southampton | 2,184,500 | 1,370,404 | -814,096 |
| Eurotunnel | 1,118,434 | 2,369,505 | +1,251,071 |
| London Gateway Port | 832,786 | 2,285,195 | +1,452,409 |
| Manchester Airport | 1,667,504 | 1,242,054 | -425,450 |
| Warton Aerodrome | 681,722 | 2,038,594 | +1,356,872 |
| Dover | 1,161,096 | 1,093,546 | -67,550 |
| Thamesport | 1,206,782 | 893,448 | -313,334 |
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 | 76 |
| Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products | 52 |
| Repair and installation of machinery and equipment | 30 |
| Office administrative, office support and other business support activities | 27 |
| Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. | 24 |
Importer companies over time
What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.
Latest 5
| Month | Companies |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 56 |
| 2025-11 | 69 |
| 2025-10 | 72 |
| 2025-09 | 57 |
| 2025-08 | 67 |
Top importers
What this shows: Companies with the highest number of months traded for this HS code.
| Company | Months traded |
|---|---|
| CPI TMD TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED | 120 |
| HAMAMATSU PHOTONICS UK LIMITED | 120 |
| TELEDYNE UK LIMITED | 118 |
| ET ENTERPRISES LIMITED | 117 |
| RICHARDSON ELECTRONICS LIMITED | 107 |
| PANASONIC MANUFACTURING U.K. LTD. | 106 |
| PHOTEK LIMITED | 102 |
| ITRON (U.K.) LIMITED | 93 |
| AIRBUS DEFENCE AND SPACE LIMITED | 87 |
| ARQIVA LIMITED | 87 |
Importer company size by revenue band
What this shows: Distribution of importers across company revenue bands.
Top 5 values
| Revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| 54m+ | 165 |
| 1m-15m | 128 |
| 0-1m | 35 |
| 15m-54m | 33 |
| Other | 22 |
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 | 81,063,930 |
| Netherlands | 52,306,679 |
| China | 23,734,287 |
| Japan | 17,490,956 |
| South Korea | 15,822,859 |
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 | 33,809,947 | 47,253,983 | +13,444,036 |
| Netherlands | 28,807,753 | 23,498,926 | -5,308,827 |
| China | 12,107,337 | 11,626,950 | -480,387 |
| Japan | 10,305,614 | 7,185,342 | -3,120,272 |
| South Korea | 8,652,039 | 7,170,820 | -1,481,219 |
| Germany | 5,569,462 | 3,039,693 | -2,529,769 |
| Poland | 1,303,957 | 5,153,892 | +3,849,935 |
| Italy | 1,998,535 | 3,816,818 | +1,818,283 |
| India | 2,362,063 | 2,668,062 | +305,999 |
| France | 2,230,732 | 2,470,664 | +239,932 |
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 | £ |
|---|---|
| XI | 668 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| XI | 668 | 0 | -668 |
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 | 199,359,755 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 42,097,404 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 9,576,051 |
| Road transport | 580,805 |
| Other | 882 |
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 | 96,827,240 | 102,532,515 | +5,705,275 |
| Roll on Roll off (RORO) | 19,617,155 | 22,480,249 | +2,863,094 |
| Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) | 7,407,647 | 2,168,404 | -5,239,243 |
| Road transport | 580,805 | 0 | -580,805 |
| Other | 713 | 169 | -544 |
Export volume by port
What this shows: Export value handled by each UK port.
Top 5 values
| Port | £ |
|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 78,527,206 |
| London Stansted Airport | 75,523,296 |
| ZLC | 27,539,556 |
| Harwich | 25,745,189 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 12,830,333 |
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 £ |
|---|---|---|---|
| London Heathrow Airport | 42,911,513 | 35,615,693 | -7,295,820 |
| London Stansted Airport | 30,171,166 | 45,352,130 | +15,180,964 |
| ZLC | 15,384,534 | 12,155,022 | -3,229,512 |
| Harwich | 13,480,376 | 12,264,813 | -1,215,563 |
| Dover / Eurotunnel | 4,327,301 | 8,503,032 | +4,175,731 |
| East Midlands Airport | 5,255,686 | 4,657,206 | -598,480 |
| Manchester Airport | 2,269,783 | 2,578,421 | +308,638 |
| Dover | 3,548,131 | 1,241,315 | -2,306,816 |
| London Gateway Port | 3,194,104 | 454,955 | -2,739,149 |
| Warton Aerodrome | 814,000 | 1,959,677 | +1,145,677 |
Related HS codes
What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.
- 854011 – Colour cathode ray tubes
- 854012 – Monochrome cathode ray tubes
- 854020 – TV camera tubes and image converters
- 854040 – Display tubes for data or graphics
- 854060 – Various cathode ray tubes
- 854071 – Magnetrons
- 854079 – Various microwave tubes
- 854081 – Receiver or amplifier tubes
- 854089 – Various electronic tubes
- 854091 – Parts for cathode ray tubes
- 854099 – Various electronic tube parts
Quick facts
HS code: 8540
Coverage: United Kingdom, most metrics for the last 24 months
Description: Includes vacuum tubes, cathode ray tubes, and other electronic valves