Sweden

http://www.economywatch.com/economic-statistics/country/Sweden/ . Iron and Steel This is a traditional Swedish industry and Sweden was the largest exporter of iron products in Europe for over two hundred years. Its importance has however diminished in recent years. The mining industry is dominated by the LKAB company and 90% of its production is exported, mainly to the German steel industry. The exports of iron ore have decreased since the mid 1970s but Sweden is still among the top ten exporters in the world. The steel industry is also exporting most of its production. Swedish steel producers have concentrated on quality and more than half of the sales value consists of the more expensive special steel used for precision tools and ball bearings, etc. Production The engineering industry is the largest manufacturing industry in Sweden. The industry has a very high technological level. Swedish engineering companies like SKF, ABB and Ericsson and inventions like the ball bearing have given Sweden a good worldwide reputation in this sector. The car and airplane industries are also significant. Volvo and SAAB are well-known companies in these fields and produce both cars and trucks under various brand names. SAAB is also a producer of commercial and military airplanes. Many traditional Swedish mechanical manufacturing companies have diversified into the electronics industry, which has grown rapidly. Sweden has one of the most automatized manufacturing industries in the world, and Sweden's ABB is the largest producer of industrial robots in Europe. Ericsson is a very successful company in telecommunications and sell digital exchanges and cellular phone systems to markets all over the world. The Service Industry The service sector is by far the largest in the Swedish economy in terms of employment. It consists not only of traditional services like financial, educational and medical but also of an increasing service part in production industries. Large parts of the Swedish service industry belong to the public sector, for instance are almost all hospitals, schools and child care centers owned by the State. A privatization process has started in this sector and former monopolies like Posten (mail services), Telia (telecommunications) and SJ (railway transports) have been or are in the process of being introduced on the stock market. The Chemical Industry Chemical products have been manufactured in Sweden for over a hundred years. The Swedish chemical industry was in the beginning mainly producing matches and explosives, while paint and plastics have grown to become a large share of chemical production after World War II. The medical part, dominated by Astra and Pharmacia & Upjohn, is the most reSearch (in Swedish) intensive of all industries and its products have been very successful during the last decades. Trading Partners Sweden exports foremost to other European countries, Germany being the single most important trading partner. A further concentration on trading relations with the countries in EU can be expected as a result of Sweden's EU membership. Over the last few decades, the import from rapidly developing Asian countries has been relatively large, with textiles as a major import product. A decrease can be expected in the future, though, because of EU import regulations and the starting of low-cost production in the Baltic and Eastern European countries. A Historical Perspective Considering its few inhabitants, Sweden's contribution to international trade is surprisingly large. With only 0.2 percent of the world population, the country accounts for about 2 percent of the world trade. Before the time of industrialization, most of Sweden's imports consisted of consumer goods, while raw materials made up the largest part of the exports. This is a situation we recognize from developing countries today. After 1870 the share of consumer goods in the exports increased, a trend that was temporarily broken at the turn of the century. After World War II, a substantial export of engineering products like cars and electric appliances once again increased the share of manufactured goods in the exports. The importance of raw materials in international trade has decreased rapidly after World War II. For example, a 'classic' Swedish export product like iron ore only accounts for 1 percent of the export value today. Instead, the engineering industry has become the dominating producer of export goods, accounting for some 40 percent of the overall export value.   Swedish Trade with the U.S. Last year, Swedish exports to America fell 4% to $12.5 billion. Over that same period, Sweden bought $5 billion worth of U.S. imports – an increase of 12.2%. Therefore, Sweden’s trade surplus with the U.S. came to $7.5 billion in 2008. The lists below present the top 10 exports and imports that American and Swedish enterprises exchanged in 2008. The fastest-growing trade product categories are also shown. Sweden’s Top Exports to America Among the top 10 Swedish exports shipped to the U.S. in 2008, only 2 of the leading product categories exceed $1 billion in sales but account for 34.6% of the total shipment value from Sweden to America. Five product categories had positive percentage gains ranging from 1.3% to 64%. The other 5 product categories declined from 0.3% to 38%. 1. Medicinal, dental and pharmaceutical preparations … US$4 billion, up 40.9% from 2007 (22.6% of US imports from Sweden) 2. Passenger cars … $1.5 billion, down 36.7% (12%) 3. Telecommunications equipment … $712.8 million, up 64% (5.7%) 4. Semi-finished iron and steel mill products … $664.5 million, down 5.3% (5.3%) 5. Other petroleum products … $545.7 million, up 48.7% (4.4%) 6. Other industrial machinery … $525 million, down 0.3% (4.2%) 7. Materials handling equipment … $475.5 million, up 38% (3.8%) 8. Other scientific, medical and hospital equipment … $462.5 million, up 1.3% (3.7%) 9. Alcoholic beverages excluding wine … $410 million, down 3.9% (3.3%) 10. Service industry machinery … $298.1 million, down 14.4% (2.4%). Fastest-Growing Swedish Exports to the U.S. The 10 fastest-growing Swedish exports to America experienced relatively mild gains in 2008. A relatively small export category, food oils and oilseeds, was up by 176.9% while the 9 other products realized double-digit increases of at least 39.6%. 1. Food oils and oilseeds … US$5.1 million, up 176.9% from 2007 2. Unmanufactured steelmaking materials … $123.1 million, up 68.6% 3. Stereo equipment including radios … $7 million, up 68.2% 4. Telecommunications equipment … $712.8 million, up 64% 5. Cookware, cutlery and garden tools … $13.2 million, up 63.3% 6. Motorcycles and parts … $7.1 million, up 55.4% 7. Woodworking and glass working … $54.3 million, up 53.5% 8. Laboratory testing and control instruments … $78.2 million, up 51.1% 9. Other petroleum products … $545.7 million, up 48.7% 10. Fuel oil … $281.4 million, up 39.6%. Sweden’s Top Imports from America America’s top 10 exports to Sweden were for relatively small amounts. These 10 product categories account for 43.4% of total Swedish imports from the U.S. 1. Other household goods … US$472.2 million, up 10.6% from 2007 (9.4% of US exports to Sweden) 2. Civilian aircraft … $321 million, up 22.9% (6.4%) 3. Telecommunications equipment … $238 million, up 4% (4.8%) 4. Other vehicle parts and accessories … $199.2 million, up 17.2% (4%) 5. Fuel oil … $178.7 million, up 102,613% (3.6%) 6. Semiconductors … $159.7 million, down 37.9% (3.2%) 7. Medicinal equipment … $158.2 million, down 1.7% (3.2%) 8. Passenger cars … $154.9 million, up 14.5% (3.1%) 9. Pharmaceutical preparations … $148.2 million, up 42.5% (3%) 10. Industrial engines … $136.6 million, up 13.4% (2.7%). Fastest-Growing Swedish Imports from the U.S. American shipments of fuel oil to Sweden spiked by an amazing 102,613% in 2008. 1. Fuel oil … US$178.7 million, up 102,613% 2. Other coal and fuels… $17.4 million, up 23,350% 3. Non-monetary gold … $15.5 million, up 4,054% 4. Military apparel and footwear… $14.4 million, up 220.6% 5. Iron and steel mill products … $27.6 million, up 151.5% 6. Military trucks, armored vehicles … $6.3 million, up 140.2% 7. Pulp and paper machinery … $53.4 million, up 114.5% 8. Glass-plates, glass sheets … $19.9 million, up 106.5% 9. Other petroleum products … $7.8 million, up 95.9% 10. Non-farm tractors and parts … $34.7 million, up 66%. Comparative Trade Advantages During 2008, Sweden exported $1.5 billion worth of new and used Swedish passenger automobiles to the U.S. while importing $154.9 million worth of American passenger cars. These Swedish-American trade statistics show that Sweden has comparative advantages over the U.S. in passenger-car trade between the 2 nations. On the other hand, America exported $159.7 million worth of semiconductors to Sweden in 2008 contrasted with U.S. imports of Swedish semiconductors worth $30.9 million. That the U.S. exported more than 5 times the value of Swedish semiconductors clearly shows that America has a comparative advantage in exporting semiconductors to Sweden. Sources This analysis is based on latest statistics from the US Census Bureau- Foreign Trade Statistics and CIA World Factbook as of the date of article publication. Share Article | The copyright of the article Sweden's Top Imports & Exports 2008 in International Trade is owned by Daniel Workman. Permission to republish Sweden's Top Imports & Exports 2008 in http://www.scb.se/Pages/PressRelease____288835.aspx Statistika Centralbyran http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Inflation-CPI.aspx'symbol=SEK Trading Economics. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sw.html http://www.riksbank.com/templates/SectionStart.aspx'id=10604