Over the last six months, 361 Chester businesses filed customs declarations. It ranks 5 of 22 trading locations in Cheshire. Most of that activity sits in machinery and mechanical appliances, electrical machinery and electronics, optical, photographic and medical instruments. Looking ahead, our model expects import activity here to pick up by around 0.8% over the next three months.
Refreshed every 24 hours · last run 25/08/2026 at 11:41HMRC release in view: Jun 26Snapshot: 2026-08-25.1
3,167Import declarations▼ 3.2% on the 6 months before
1,244Export declarations
+0.8%Forecast, next 3 monthsBased on 2 years of data
361Trading businesses
Top 10 businesses by 6-month activity Free tier
Ranked by declaration volume and months active. Hover any bar in the 24-month indicators for that month's figures. Log in for keyword search and HMRC category filters across all 361 businesses.
★ Most active in ChesterFiled more customs declarations than any other Chester business over the last six months — roughly 7% of the town's total import activity, mostly in dyes, pigments, paints and inks.
Most active business
COLUMBUS MCKINNON CORPORATION LIMITED
212 import declarations53 export declarationsCH1 *Ch. 32Ch. 39Ch. 40Ch. 42Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include welded link chain of iron or steel (excl. articulated link chain, skid chain and stud-link chain), vehicles pushed or drawn by hand and other vehicles not mechanically propelled (excl. trailers and semi-trailers), gears and gearing for machinery (excl. toothed wheels, chain sprockets and other transmission elements presented separately); ball or roller screws; gear boxes and other speed changers, incl. torque converters.
▲ Expected to increase by 40.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity212 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity53 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
THE ECLECTIC LIFESTYLE COMPANY LIMITED
27 import declarations50 export declarationsCH1 *Ch. 06Ch. 12Ch. 33Ch. 34Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include tableware, kitchenware, other household articles and toilet articles, of ceramics other than porcelain or china (excl. baths, bidets, sinks and similar sanitary fixtures, statuettes and other ornamental articles, pots, jars, carboys and similar recep, carboys, bottles, flasks, jars, pots, phials and other containers, of glass, of a kind used for the commercial conveyance or packing of goods, and preserving jars, of glass (excl. ampoules, glass inners for containers, with vacuum insulation, perfume, agarbatti.
▼ Expected to slow by 9.5% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity27 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity50 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
NUTRIAD LTD
141 import declarations42 export declarationsCH1 *Ch. 07Ch. 09Ch. 12Ch. 15Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include preparations of a kind used in animal feeding (excl. dog or cat food put up for retail sale), organo-sulphur compounds (excl. thiocarbamates and dithiocarbamates, thiuram mono-, di- or tetrasulphides, methionine, 2-(n,n-diethylamino)ethanethiol, bis(2-hydroxyethyl)sulfide (thiodiglycol (inn)), aldicarb [iso], captafol [iso], methamidophos [is, butanoic acids, pentanoic acids, their salts and esters.
▲ Expected to increase by 16.4% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity141 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity42 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
EXITEX UK SALES LIMITED
96 import declarations35 export declarationsCH1 *Ch. 32Ch. 39Ch. 40Ch. 44Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include building elements for the manufacture of floors, walls, partition walls, ceilings, roofs, etc., of plastics; gutters and accessories of plastics; railings, fences and similar barriers, of plastics; large shelves, for assembly and permanent installati, articles of graphite or carbon, for non-electrical purposes (excl. carbon fibres and articles of carbon fibres), self-adhesive plates, sheets, film, foil, tape, strip and other flat shapes, of plastics, in rolls <= 20 cm wide.
▲ Expected to increase by 0.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity96 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity35 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
WS AUDIOLOGY LIMITED
112 import declarations9 export declarationsCH4 *Ch. 13Ch. 17Ch. 19Ch. 21Active in 6 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include articles and appliances, which are worn or carried, or implanted in the body, to compensate for a defect or disability (excl. artificial parts of the body, complete hearing aids and complete pacemakers for stimulating heart muscles), hearing aids (excl. parts and accessories), static converters.
▼ Expected to slow by 9.8% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity112 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity9 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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351 more Chester businesses
Every importer and exporter in CH1 / CH2 / CH3 / CH4 with monthly activity, 24-month indicators, forecasts, Companies House records, AI research and validated contact reveals.
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What Chester trades
The most frequently declared goods across all 361 businesses in the last six months — useful for picking which trade lanes to prospect.
Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire)Articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s (excl. goods of 9619)Sewing thread of synthetic filaments, whether or not put up for retail saleInstruments and appliances used in medical, surgical or veterinary sciences, n.e.s.Static convertersTricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size "scale" recreational models, working or not; puzzles of all kindsFood preparations, n.e.s.Certified reference materials
Common questions about trade in Chester
How many businesses import or export from Chester?
HMRC customs records show 361 businesses in Chester (CH1, CH2, CH3, CH4) filed declarations over the last six months — 3,167 import declarations and 1,244 export declarations in total. This page is rebuilt every 24 hours as new HMRC data is published.
What do Chester businesses import most?
The most common category is machinery and mechanical appliances. Across all Chester traders the leading goods are articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire), articles of plastics and articles of other materials of heading 3901 to 3914, n.e.s (excl. goods of 9619), sewing thread of synthetic filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale, instruments and appliances used in medical, surgical or veterinary sciences, n.e.s.. You can filter the full list by HMRC category once logged in.
Is trade from Chester growing?
Import activity is down 3.2% compared with the previous six months. Our model, which reads two years of monthly history, expects the next three months to rise by roughly 0.8%. That figure is our estimate, not an HMRC projection.
How do I get contact details for Chester importers?
Create an account to see all 361 businesses, open their Companies House records, run AI research on their website and buying signals, and reveal validated email and LinkedIn contacts.
Nearby in Cheshire
Other Cheshire locations with active customs entries.