Import/export HS code 8549: Electrical and electronic waste

Scrap and waste from electrical and electronic devices, including broken or unusable parts

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 £
Ireland 13,699,742
Norway 10,480,639
Belgium 3,666,614
China 1,359,434
Thailand 984,705

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 £
Ireland 6,894,088 6,805,654 -88,434
Norway 6,563,429 3,917,210 -2,646,219
Belgium 1,242,010 2,424,604 +1,182,594
China 844,501 514,933 -329,568
Thailand 845,068 139,637 -705,431
Netherlands 422,247 431,697 +9,450
United States 290,902 523,741 +232,839
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 577,783 128,877 -448,906
France 207,105 486,907 +279,802
Japan 447,394 7,405 -439,989

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 £
Ireland 13,450,271
Norway 10,452,257
France 4,032,168
China 1,684,469
United Kingdom 793,404

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 £
Ireland 6,848,964 6,601,307 -247,657
Norway 6,563,429 3,888,828 -2,674,601
France 1,299,003 2,733,165 +1,434,162
China 973,023 711,446 -261,577
United Kingdom 681,677 111,727 -569,950
Netherlands 300,986 486,370 +185,384
Thailand 594,064 146,976 -447,088
China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 559,254 56,798 -502,456
United States 268,238 290,679 +22,441
Spain 181,173 40,778 -140,395

Importers across UK regions

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

Top 5 values

UK region Companies
Surrey, East and West Sussex 11
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 10
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 9
Greater Manchester 8
Inner London - West 8

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
Surrey, East and West Sussex 9 3 -6
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire 8 3 -5
Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 5 6 +1
Greater Manchester 5 3 -2
Inner London - West 6 3 -3
Hampshire and Isle of Wight 5 3 -2
Outer London - West and North West 3 4 +1
West Midlands 4 3 -1
Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire 4 1 -3
Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire 2 3 +1

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) 19,199,443
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 12,934,690
Air transport 3,007,441
Road transport 16,075
Other 11,731

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) 8,960,239 10,239,204 +1,278,965
Sea transport (not vehicle on ferry) 7,940,324 4,994,366 -2,945,958
Air transport 2,224,728 782,713 -1,442,015
Road transport 16,075 0 -16,075
Other 9,502 2,229 -7,273

Import volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Fishguard 6,826,456
Hull 5,628,651
Immingham Docks 5,142,724
Eurotunnel 4,300,456
Liverpool Docks 3,411,266

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 £
Fishguard 2,641,629 4,184,827 +1,543,198
Hull 3,149,713 2,478,938 -670,775
Immingham Docks 3,639,608 1,503,116 -2,136,492
Eurotunnel 1,344,904 2,955,552 +1,610,648
Liverpool Docks 2,105,360 1,305,906 -799,454
Dover 1,223,344 1,331,849 +108,505
London Heathrow Airport 1,736,151 319,349 -1,416,802
Felixstowe 1,107,555 579,440 -528,115
Holyhead 1,401,137 209,533 -1,191,604
London 7,725 480,552 +472,827

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 26
Manufacture of computer, electronic and optical products 12
Manufacture of electrical equipment 12
Manufacture of machinery and equipment n.e.c. 12
Retail trade, except of motor vehicles and motorcycles 11

Importer companies over time

What this shows: Monthly count of unique importing companies.

Latest 5

Month Companies
2025-11 8
2025-10 4
2025-09 3
2025-08 3
2025-07 9

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+ 52
1m-15m 42
15m-54m 17
0-1m 10
Other 10

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 £
Japan 32,911,638
Belgium 20,309,134
Canada 5,530,175
Germany 5,293,272
Bulgaria 3,709,718

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 £
Japan 19,255,769 13,655,869 -5,599,900
Belgium 8,454,770 11,854,364 +3,399,594
Canada 1,235,583 4,294,592 +3,059,009
Germany 1,764,656 3,528,616 +1,763,960
Bulgaria 2,223,828 1,485,890 -737,938
Netherlands 1,705,803 1,161,927 -543,876
Latvia 451,532 2,071,671 +1,620,139
United States 996,792 1,087,462 +90,670
Sweden 669,999 1,397,442 +727,443
France 1,252,807 719,720 -533,087

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) 50,066,694
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 32,127,591
Air transport 5,381,728
Road transport 12,986

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) 27,783,598 22,283,096 -5,500,502
Roll on Roll off (RORO) 12,916,829 19,210,762 +6,293,933
Air transport 2,660,421 2,721,307 +60,886
Road transport 12,986 0 -12,986

Export volume by port

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

Top 5 values

Port £
Southampton 20,767,503
Liverpool Docks 12,922,443
Dover / Eurotunnel 12,589,446
Immingham Docks 8,666,339
London 6,740,903

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 £
Southampton 14,740,369 6,027,134 -8,713,235
Liverpool Docks 4,592,189 8,330,254 +3,738,065
Dover / Eurotunnel 5,880,948 6,708,498 +827,550
Immingham Docks 4,147,716 4,518,623 +370,907
London 2,225,626 4,515,277 +2,289,651
London Gateway Port 1,256,428 4,619,866 +3,363,438
Felixstowe 4,024,677 1,537,921 -2,486,756
Dover 1,125,340 1,959,003 +833,663
London Heathrow Airport 1,525,422 975,573 -549,849
Middlesbrough 654,592 1,337,618 +683,026

Related HS codes

What this shows: Sibling or child HS codes in the same classification branch.

Quick facts

HS code: 8549

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

Description: Scrap and waste from electrical and electronic devices, including broken or unusable parts