This page describes standards, ports and documentation practice. It is not a claim of shipment history or of volume to this market — our published figures are only the ones we can evidence.
Standards
Which standard the drawing cites
UK specifications typically cite BS EN versions of the European standards — BS EN 485 for sheet, strip and plate, BS EN 755 for extrusions. Since leaving the EU, UK-specific conformity marking has been introduced alongside the previous European marking for construction products, and the transition arrangements have been extended more than once.
Logistics
Ports and transit
Felixstowe and London Gateway handle the majority of container traffic, with Southampton and Liverpool also significant. Inland distribution from these gateways is compact by international standards, which keeps the final leg predictable.
Handling
Packing and service conditions
Confirm whether the buyer is clearing customs or whether the seller is; post-departure customs arrangements differ from the pre-2021 position and are a common source of landed-cost surprises. Short inland legs make delivered pricing straightforward once the customs position is settled.
Specification
Grades usually called for
6063 and 6060 for architectural extrusion and window systems; 6082 for structural and machined work; 5083 for marine; 1050 and 3003 for general sheet and formed work. Marine tempers H116 and H321 are the ones to name on hull and offshore orders.
Documentation
Certificates and compliance
EN 10204 3.1 is the expected certificate type. Where a construction product requires UK conformity marking, confirm which marking the project is working to and when — the transition position has changed and should be read from the current UK guidance, not from a supplier's recollection. Timber packaging must comply with ISPM 15.
Cost of getting it wrong
Four things that go wrong here
Assuming the previous European marking is still accepted without checking the current UK position for that product category.
Assuming customs handling works the way it did before the UK left the EU customs union.
Leaving the marine temper off a 5xxx order.
Quoting to a UK port without establishing who handles import entry.
Send us the drawing
If you tell us which standard the drawing cites, we will say whether the quoted mill works to that table and whether the tolerance can be held — before you commit, not on the inspection report.
Trade measures and marking requirements change. We do not publish rates for that reason — we confirm the current position at quotation.