Almost 70 per cent of Swedish manufacturers have more than 10 foreign suppliers of intermediate goods. What’s more, Business Sweden’s latest survey reveals an unmistakable trend: smaller medium-sized companies are expanding their supplier networks while, conversely, larger medium-sized companies and large corporations are downsizing theirs.
While the bulk of Swedish manufacturers' supplier networks are located in Western Europe, half of these companies also have suppliers in China, who provide goods that are critical for the competitiveness of Sweden’s industrial sector.
Compared to the findings of Business Sweden’s previous survey three years ago, the US has strengthened its position – but still plays a peripheral role in sourcing of intermediate goods. We can also observe that both China and the US will carry less weight in the next three years as supplier networks are reorganised.
Some reallocation from China to Europe and other parts of Asia is expected. Meanwhile, a third of companies with US-based suppliers are planning to reduce their sourcing in this market. Besides this, it's clear from the results that free trade agreements with the EU will become much more important in the next three years.
Download the report to explore the survey findings.
