Official data Source: US Census Bureau international trade data
Track this productSurveying instruments and appliances, not elsewhere specified, hydrographic, oceanographic, hydrological, meteorological or geophysical instruments and appliances not elsewhere specified
In short
- The US imported $594.1M of this product over the 12 months to August 2026, down 13% on the year before.
- Canada is the largest supplier, with 33.9% of US imports; United Kingdom is next, with 15.8%.
- Duty paid averaged 11.9% of the value of imports in August 2026, down 0.6 points on a year earlier.
- China is gaining share: 12.2% over the last 12 months, up from 6.2%.
- US exports were $984.7M over the last 12 months; the largest market is Canada, with 10.0%.
US imports, Aug 2026
$56.5M
↑ +12% vs Aug 2025
Last 12 months
$594.1M
↓ −13% vs the 12 months before
Average duty paid
11.9%
↓ −0.6 pts vs Aug 2025
Top supplier
Canada
33.9% of US imports
US imports by month
The last 13 months, so the same month a year ago is on the left. August 2026 is highlighted.
Show the numbers
| Month | US imports |
|---|---|
| August 2025 | $50.4M |
| September 2025 | $47.9M |
| October 2025 | $46.7M |
| November 2025 | $37.3M |
| December 2025 | $61.2M |
| January 2026 | $37.4M |
| February 2026 | $41.7M |
| March 2026 | $45.1M |
| April 2026 | $44.3M |
| May 2026 | $54.4M |
| June 2026 | $56.9M |
| July 2026 | $64.8M |
| August 2026 | $56.5M |
What changed
- US imports were $56.5M in August 2026, down 13% from July 2026 and up 12% from August 2025.
- Over the 12 months to August 2026 they totalled $594.1M, down 13% on the 12 months before.
- Biggest moves in market share since July 2026: Canada up from 27.5% to 33.9%, China down from 27.8% to 8.5%.
- Duty paid on imports from Norway fell from 10.1% to 7.1% of their value since July 2026.
- Duty paid on imports from Thailand rose from 10.7% to 13.0% of their value since July 2026.
US trade by year
US imports were $594.1M in the 12 months to Aug 2026, up 2.8% on the 12 months to Aug 2017. US exports were $984.7M, up 1.1%. In January 2022 the HS 2022 revision moved some goods between this code and 8524.11, 8524.12, 8524.19 and 10 more, so part of a change across the dashed line can be the revision. Dotted lines mark lasting changes in duty paid, labelled with the supplier, or "Duty" when several moved; the tariff timeline lists each one with its notices.
Show the numbers
| Period | US imports |
|---|---|
| 12 months to Aug 2017 | $578.0M |
| 12 months to Aug 2018 | $577.6M |
| 12 months to Aug 2019 | $585.7M |
| 12 months to Aug 2020 | $473.5M |
| 12 months to Aug 2021 | $517.1M |
| 12 months to Aug 2022 | $611.8M |
| 12 months to Aug 2023 | $695.1M |
| 12 months to Aug 2024 | $727.5M |
| 12 months to Aug 2025 | $681.9M |
| 12 months to Aug 2026 | $594.1M |
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- China
- Germany
- All countries
Show the numbers
| Period | Canada | United Kingdom | China | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months to Aug 2017 | 31.4% | 12.4% | 8.6% | 7.4% |
| 12 months to Aug 2018 | 30.4% | 12.7% | 10.4% | 9.1% |
| 12 months to Aug 2019 | 27.0% | 13.7% | 5.1% | 10.1% |
| 12 months to Aug 2020 | 28.3% | 16.8% | 6.1% | 9.9% |
| 12 months to Aug 2021 | 27.4% | 15.5% | 8.4% | 11.1% |
| 12 months to Aug 2022 | 25.0% | 15.8% | 5.7% | 10.4% |
| 12 months to Aug 2023 | 26.4% | 14.8% | 5.2% | 11.2% |
| 12 months to Aug 2024 | 24.5% | 15.6% | 4.9% | 11.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2025 | 25.2% | 13.8% | 6.2% | 8.0% |
| 12 months to Aug 2026 | 30.9% | 14.3% | 12.2% | 7.7% |
Show the numbers
| Period | Canada | United Kingdom | China | Germany | All countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months to Aug 2017 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 12 months to Aug 2018 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 1.5% | 0.0% | 0.2% |
| 12 months to Aug 2019 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 18.4% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| 12 months to Aug 2020 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5.2% | 0.0% | 0.3% |
| 12 months to Aug 2021 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8.0% | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2022 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 11.9% | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2023 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 8.2% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| 12 months to Aug 2024 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 14.1% | 0.0% | 0.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2025 | 1.4% | 2.8% | 30.9% | 2.7% | 4.6% |
| 12 months to Aug 2026 | 1.6% | 8.5% | 34.5% | 11.1% | 10.5% |
| Period | US imports | Duty paid | US exports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months to Aug 2026 | $594.1M−13% | 10.5%+5.9 pts | $984.7M−0.4% |
| 12 months to Aug 2025 | $681.9M−6.3% | 4.6%+3.9 pts | $989.0M−8.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2024 | $727.5M+4.7% | 0.7%+0.3 pts | $1.08B+12% |
| 12 months to Aug 2023 | $695.1M+14% | 0.4%−0.3 pts | $970.7M+4.2% |
| 12 months to Aug 2022HS 2022 revision | $611.8M+18% | 0.7%0.0 pts | $931.9M+9.4% |
| 12 months to Aug 2021 | $517.1M+9.2% | 0.7%+0.4 pts | $851.6M−8.1% |
| 12 months to Aug 2020 | $473.5M−19% | 0.3%−0.6 pts | $926.8M−18% |
| 12 months to Aug 2019 | $585.7M+1.4% | 0.9%+0.7 pts | $1.12B+8.1% |
| 12 months to Aug 2018 | $577.6M−0.1% | 0.2%+0.2 pts | $1.04B+6.7% |
| 12 months to Aug 2017 | $578.0M | 0.0% | $974.3M |
Who supplies the US
August 2026. Small figures under each value are the change from August 2025. Average prices aren't shown because this product's lines are counted in different units.
| Country | US imports | Share | Average price | Duty paid | Last 13 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $19.1M | 33.9%+6.3 pts | n/a | 0.5%−5.8 pts | |
| United Kingdom | $8.9M | 15.8%−2.3 pts | n/a | 9.2%+2.3 pts | |
| China | $4.8M | 8.5%−1.1 pts | n/a | 36.1%−6.2 pts | |
| Thailand | $4.5M | 8.0%+5.8 pts | n/a | 13.0%−1.4 pts | |
| Germany | $4.5M | 7.9%+2.6 pts | n/a | 9.9%−0.3 pts | |
| Norway | $3.4M | 6.0%+0.7 pts | n/a | 7.1%−4.4 pts | |
| Finland | $1.8M | 3.1%+1.3 pts | n/a | 7.6%−1.2 pts | |
| Japan | $1.5M | 2.7%+0.9 pts | n/a | 12.5%+0.3 pts | |
| Other countries (40) | $8.1M | 14.3%−13.5 pts | n/a | 9.0%−3.4 pts | |
| All countries | $56.5M | 100.0% | n/a | 11.9%−0.6 pts |
The 3 largest suppliers had 57.4% of US imports over the last 12 months.
How the market is shifting
China gained the most share: 12.2% of US imports over the last 12 months, up from 6.2% in the 12 months before. Mexico lost the most: 0.5%, down from 6.7%. The charts show September 2024 to August 2026 for the 4 largest suppliers over the last 12 months. Dotted lines mark lasting changes in duty paid, labelled with the supplier, or "Duty" when several moved; the tariff timeline lists each one with its notices.
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- China
- Germany
- All countries
Show the numbers
| Month | Canada | United Kingdom | China | Germany |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 | 21.5% | 15.3% | 3.3% | 8.5% |
| October 2024 | 28.4% | 16.2% | 6.1% | 7.1% |
| November 2024 | 22.5% | 15.7% | 3.9% | 9.7% |
| December 2024 | 24.8% | 11.3% | 3.7% | 10.5% |
| January 2025 | 23.8% | 16.5% | 8.2% | 7.9% |
| February 2025 | 28.4% | 17.2% | 5.0% | 8.2% |
| March 2025 | 21.3% | 10.1% | 4.4% | 8.2% |
| April 2025 | 31.8% | 8.9% | 10.3% | 4.9% |
| May 2025 | 27.8% | 12.5% | 7.3% | 13.7% |
| June 2025 | 21.8% | 12.5% | 7.7% | 4.9% |
| July 2025 | 23.7% | 12.6% | 6.8% | 7.4% |
| August 2025 | 27.6% | 18.0% | 9.6% | 5.3% |
| September 2025 | 38.8% | 10.8% | 5.4% | 7.7% |
| October 2025 | 26.1% | 17.4% | 5.7% | 8.6% |
| November 2025 | 31.0% | 14.5% | 7.9% | 6.9% |
| December 2025 | 23.4% | 8.3% | 27.4% | 8.8% |
| January 2026 | 35.1% | 13.5% | 7.9% | 8.8% |
| February 2026 | 27.8% | 17.6% | 15.5% | 5.2% |
| March 2026 | 30.7% | 17.4% | 5.7% | 7.8% |
| April 2026 | 32.6% | 16.0% | 4.0% | 8.0% |
| May 2026 | 26.7% | 15.4% | 13.3% | 11.1% |
| June 2026 | 39.9% | 14.3% | 6.7% | 6.7% |
| July 2026 | 27.5% | 12.8% | 27.8% | 5.4% |
| August 2026 | 33.9% | 15.8% | 8.5% | 7.9% |
Show the numbers
| Month | Canada | United Kingdom | China | Germany | All countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2024 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 11.1% | 0.0% | 0.4% |
| October 2024 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13.9% | 0.0% | 0.9% |
| November 2024 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13.0% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| December 2024 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 13.8% | 0.0% | 0.5% |
| January 2025 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 19.5% | 0.0% | 1.6% |
| February 2025 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 21.3% | 0.0% | 1.1% |
| March 2025 | 1.8% | 0.0% | 35.7% | 0.0% | 3.7% |
| April 2025 | 0.8% | 4.0% | 54.5% | 4.1% | 10.2% |
| May 2025 | 3.1% | 9.8% | 32.0% | 9.6% | 9.5% |
| June 2025 | 4.0% | 9.5% | 37.1% | 8.8% | 10.2% |
| July 2025 | 2.3% | 9.4% | 38.9% | 10.0% | 10.0% |
| August 2025 | 6.3% | 7.0% | 42.3% | 10.2% | 12.4% |
| September 2025 | 1.6% | 9.0% | 34.7% | 12.9% | 10.0% |
| October 2025 | 2.4% | 6.6% | 32.4% | 12.2% | 9.8% |
| November 2025 | 2.4% | 9.1% | 29.8% | 9.8% | 11.3% |
| December 2025 | 3.2% | 8.0% | 34.2% | 12.2% | 11.1% |
| January 2026 | 4.6% | 9.5% | 36.1% | 14.7% | 11.8% |
| February 2026 | 1.8% | 7.0% | 40.3% | 13.3% | 14.3% |
| March 2026 | 1.0% | 9.7% | 29.9% | 9.8% | 8.1% |
| April 2026 | 0.7% | 9.1% | 32.7% | 9.8% | 8.1% |
| May 2026 | 0.9% | 8.8% | 27.7% | 9.9% | 8.3% |
| June 2026 | 0.7% | 8.9% | 31.8% | 9.6% | 7.1% |
| July 2026 | 0.8% | 7.9% | 34.8% | 9.8% | 13.9% |
| August 2026 | 0.5% | 9.2% | 36.1% | 9.9% | 11.9% |
Tariff actions touching this product
When the duty paid on this product changed and stayed changed, for its main suppliers and all countries, newest first, with the Federal Register notices that named the product in the 3 months before. Rates are medians of the 4 months either side, less any usual seasonal swing. A change shows what happened to duty paid, not why; read each notice for what it did.
- March–May 2025 · Duty paid: United Kingdom 0.0% → 9.4%, China 17.4% → 35.8%, Germany 0.0% → 9.8%, all countries 0.8% → 9.9%.
- March 2024 · Duty paid: China 11.0% → 19.3%.
- November 2022 · Duty paid: China 6.1% → 12.7%.
- December 2021 · Duty paid: China 18.9% → 12.0%. This is around the January 2022 HS revision, which moved goods in or out of this code.
- January 2021 · Duty paid: China 4.5% → 15.1%.
- July 2019 · Duty paid: China 14.5% → 7.8%.
- January 2019 · Duty paid: China 22.5% → 15.4%.
- August 2018 · Duty paid: China 0.1% → 22.5%.
Where it enters the US
Main ports of entry over the 12 months to August 2026: US imports and share.
Where US exports go
US exports were $80.0M in August 2026, down 2.3% from August 2025, and $984.7M over the last 12 months, down 0.4% on the 12 months before. Fastest-growing market with 3% or more of US exports: Brazil, up 119%.
| Market | Last 12 months | Share | vs 12 months before |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | $98.1M | 10.0% | +17% |
| Brazil | $78.3M | 7.9% | +119% |
| United Kingdom | $67.9M | 6.9% | +1.0% |
| Norway | $66.7M | 6.8% | +17% |
| Australia | $51.4M | 5.2% | −37% |
| China | $49.2M | 5.0% | −39% |
| Singapore | $39.6M | 4.0% | +41% |
| Japan | $32.9M | 3.3% | +1.0% |
| Other countries (184) | $500.7M | 50.8% | −4.0% |
| All countries | $984.7M | 100.0% | −0.4% |
Markets abroad
Each country's own import figures for this product, from UN Comtrade: the 8 biggest importers outside the US in the latest year each has reported, what they bought from the US, and the change from the year before. Values usually include freight and insurance to the importer's border, so they run a little above US export figures. Countries report a year or more late; 123 have reported 2025 so far.
| Market | Imports | vs year before | From the US | US share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | $368.9Min 2025 | −9.4% | $100.7M | 27.3% |
| Norway | $312.2Min 2025 | +41% | $110.4M | 35.3% |
| United Kingdom | $299.1Min 2025 | +18% | $61.5M | 20.6% |
| Australia | $244.3Min 2025 | −2.5% | $79.9M | 32.7% |
| Singapore | $207.5Min 2025 | −17% | $52.2M | 25.2% |
| Germany | $196.7Min 2025 | +23% | $36.0M | 18.3% |
| Canada | $157.4Min 2025 | +9.5% | $64.5M | 41.0% |
| France | $146.0Min 2025 | +15% | $21.1M | 14.4% |
The biggest market outside the US is China, which imported $368.9M of this product in 2025, 27.3% of that from the US.
Of these, imports into Norway grew fastest: up 41% from 2024 to 2025.
Related products
Other products under heading 9015: surveying, hydrographic, oceanographic, hydrological, meteorological or geophysical instruments etc. not elsewhere specified; rangefinders; parts and accessories. US trade over the 12 months to August 2026.
| Product | US imports | US exports |
|---|---|---|
| Parts etc. for rangefinders and surveying, hydrographic, ocean ographic, hydrological, meteorological or geophysical instruments and appliances not elsewhere specifiedHS 9015.90 | $294.6M | $338.3M |
| RangefindersHS 9015.10 | $311.0M | $112.4M |
| Theodolites and tachyometersHS 9015.20 | $82.3M | $28.9M |
| Photogrammetrical surveying instruments and appliancesHS 9015.40 | $47.1M | $43.6M |
| Levels (surveying)HS 9015.30 | $21.8M | $8.7M |
About these figures
- Source: US Census Bureau international trade data, not seasonally adjusted, in US dollars. Retrieved November 3, 2026.
- US imports are general imports at customs value, which excludes freight and insurance. Exports are at free-alongside-ship value.
- Average price is customs value divided by quantity, across all of the product's 10-digit lines.
- Duty paid is the duty Census calculates on each country's imports for consumption, as a share of their value. It moves with tariff changes, exemptions and the mix of goods within the product.
- Markets abroad are each country's imports as it reports them to UN Comtrade, in US dollars, usually including freight and insurance. Countries report a year or more late and in their own edition of the HS codes, so one still on an older edition is missing for codes that changed in 2022.
- Census revises recent months, so figures can change slightly. These are estimates for research and planning, not customs or legal advice.