741 businesses in Southampton appear in HMRC customs records for the last six months. That puts it third in Hampshire for trade activity. Most of that activity sits in electrical machinery and electronics, machinery and mechanical appliances, plastics and plastic articles. Looking ahead, our model expects import activity here to ease back by around 4.7% over the next three months.
Refreshed every 24 hours · last run 05/10/2026 at 06:14HMRC release in view: Aug 26Snapshot: 2026-10-04.1
7,322Import declarations▼ 16.2% on the 6 months before
2,626Export declarations
−4.7%Forecast, next 3 monthsBased on 2 years of data
741Trading 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 741 businesses.
★ Most active in SouthamptonFiled more customs declarations than any other Southampton business over the last six months — roughly 6% of the town's total import activity, mostly in meat and edible offal.
Most active business
CARNIVAL UK LTD.
463 import declarations229 export declarationsSO15 *Ch. 02Ch. 10Ch. 16Ch. 17Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include wine of fresh grapes, incl. fortified wines, and grape must whose fermentation has been arrested by the addition of alcohol, in containers of <= 2 l (excl. sparkling wine), sparkling wine of fresh grapes, beer made from malt.
▼ Expected to slow by 10.9% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity463 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity229 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
NAVICO GROUP EMEA BV
217 import declarations6 export declarationsSO14 *Ch. 39Ch. 61Ch. 62Ch. 74Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include centrifugal pumps, power-driven (excl. those of subheading 8413.11 and 8413.19, fuel, lubricating or cooling medium pumps for internal combustion piston engine and concrete pumps), engines and motors (excl. steam turbines, internal combustion piston engine, hydraulic turbines, water wheels, gas turbines, reaction engines, hydraulic power engines and motors, pneumatic power engines and motors and electric motors), photograph, picture or similar frames, of base metal; mirrors of base metal (excl. optical elements).
▲ Expected to increase by 149.5% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity217 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity6 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
CLF DISTRIBUTION LIMITED
117 import declarations90 export declarationsSO16 *Ch. 04Ch. 07Ch. 08Ch. 09Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include food preparations, n.e.s., non-alcoholic beverages (excl. water, fruit or vegetable juices, milk and beer), chocolate and other preparations containing cocoa, in containers or immediate packings of <= 2 kg (excl. in blocks, slabs or bars and cocoa powder).
▲ Expected to increase by 0.0% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity117 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity90 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
TW METALS LTD
104 import declarations103 export declarationsSO16 *Ch. 28Ch. 44Ch. 48Ch. 72Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include articles of titanium, n.e.s., plates, sheets and strip, of aluminium alloys, of a thickness of > 0,2 mm, square or rectangular (excl. expanded plates, sheets and strip), other bars and rods of stainless steel, not further worked than cold-formed or cold-finished.
▼ Expected to slow by 4.2% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity104 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity103 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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Among the most active
PAUL MURRAY PLC
113 import declarations65 export declarationsSO18 *Ch. 21Ch. 22Ch. 25Ch. 30Active in 5 of the last 6 months
Recent shipments include dentifrices, incl. those used by dental practitioners, shaving brushes, hair brushes, nail brushes, eyelash brushes and other brushes for use on the person (excl. tooth brushes), wadding, gauze, bandages and the like, e.g. dressings, adhesive plasters, poultices, impregnated or covered with pharmaceutical substances or put up for retail sale for medical, surgical, dental or veterinary purposes (excl. adhesive dressings and ot.
▼ Expected to slow by 17.6% over the next 3 months, based on their last 2 years
Imports — 2 years of monthly activity113 in the last 6 months
Exports — 2 years of monthly activity65 in the last 6 months
Earlier monthsLast 6 monthsOur forecast for the next 3
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731 more Southampton businesses
Every importer and exporter in SO14 / SO15 / SO16 / SO17 with monthly activity, 24-month indicators, forecasts, Companies House records, AI research and validated contact reveals.
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What Southampton trades
The most frequently declared goods across all 741 businesses in the last six months — useful for picking which trade lanes to prospect.
Food preparations, n.e.s.Tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size "scale" recreational models, working or not; puzzles of all kindsWine of fresh grapes, incl. fortified wines, and grape must whose fermentation has been arrested by the addition of alcohol, in containers of <= 2 l (excl. sparkling wine)Travelling-bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toilet bags, rucksacks, shopping-bags, map-cases, tool bags, sports bags, jewellery boxes, cutlery cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar contaBeauty or make-up preparations and preparations for the care of the skin (other than medicaments), incl. sunscreen or suntan preparations (excl. medicaments, lip and eye make-up preparations, manicure or pedicure preparations and make-up or skin careAppliances for pipes, boiler shells, tanks, vats or the like (excl. pressure-reducing valves, valves for the control of pneumatic power transmission, check "non-return" valves and safety or relief valves)Articles of iron or steel, n.e.s. (excl. cast articles or articles of iron or steel wire)Electromechanical tools for working in the hand, with self-contained electric motor (excl. saws and drills)
Common questions about trade in Southampton
How many businesses import or export from Southampton?
HMRC customs records show 741 businesses in Southampton (SO14, SO15, SO16, SO17) filed declarations over the last six months — 7,322 import declarations and 2,626 export declarations in total. This page is rebuilt every 24 hours as new HMRC data is published.
What do Southampton businesses import most?
The most common category is electrical machinery and electronics. Across all Southampton traders the leading goods are food preparations, n.e.s., tricycles, scooters, pedal cars and similar wheeled toys; dolls' carriages; dolls; other toys; reduced-size "scale" recreational models, working or not; puzzles of all kinds, wine of fresh grapes, incl. fortified wines, and grape must whose fermentation has been arrested by the addition of alcohol, in containers of <= 2 l (excl. sparkling wine), travelling-bags, insulated food or beverage bags, toilet bags, rucksacks, shopping-bags, map-cases, tool bags, sports bags, jewellery boxes, cutlery cases, binocular cases, camera cases, musical instrument cases, gun cases, holsters and similar conta. You can filter the full list by HMRC category once logged in.
Is trade from Southampton growing?
Import activity is down 16.2% compared with the previous six months. Our model, which reads two years of monthly history, expects the next three months to soften by roughly 4.7%. That figure is our estimate, not an HMRC projection.
How do I get contact details for Southampton importers?
Create an account to see all 741 businesses, open their Companies House records, run AI research on their website and buying signals, and reveal validated email and LinkedIn contacts.
Nearby in Hampshire
Other Hampshire locations with active customs entries.