The following industry sectors provide the best opportunities for U.S. exports in short and medium term. The sectors are ranked by estimated annual growth of U.S. exports.

1. Computer Software

Swedish users are early adopters of new technology, which makes Sweden a great test market for new IT products. Swedish industry, with its small domestic market, has recognized the importance of utilizing the newest technologies in order to be able to compete successfully on the international scene. A number of U.S. companies have set up research centers in Sweden as a result of the country’s prominent position as an IT nation. The Swedish software market grew marginally in 2002. It is forecast that the market will see growth around 3% in 2003. The drivers behind the growth in the application software segment include CRM that support sales, marketing and customers services; adoption of supply chain automation, continued globalization of business, and e-business. There are around 600 software companies in Sweden that are primarily focused on the market for enterprise resources, data security and encryption software as well as wireless applications. All major U.S. software suppliers are active in the Swedish market. U.S. products are considered to be of high quality and reliable, which makes Sweden an excellent market for U.S. products.

2. Travel & Tourism

Sweden continues to offers good opportunities for US travel and tourism service providers as well as destinations. The combined effects of the economic downturn and the events of 9/11 resulted in a dramatic decrease in air travel in 2001. In 2002 total sales went down slightly and travel to the US went down by 11 percent. The airlines experience major cutbacks on routes and personnel. Travel agents and tour operators are still consolidating their efforts in order to survive the downturn in the industry. 4 major wholesalers and some 20 travel/incentive houses dominate the Visit USA market. The dollar is cheaper this year making travel to the US even more attractive. Swedes enjoy a legislated 5 weeks paid holiday each year and they are avid travelers. In 2002 some 204,100 Swedes visited the US and spent an estimated $590 million.

3. Medical Equipment

Swedish health by international standards is relatively good. In terms of average life expectancy and mortality, public health in Sweden has improved during the past. Life expectancy for men is 77.1 years and for women 81.9 years. Health care is regarded as an important part of the Swedish so-called welfare system and a fundamental principle is that all citizens have the right to good health and health care on equal terms, regardless of where they live and their economic circumstances.
The factors reshaping the future health care system in Sweden are the increase in an aging population, efforts to contain cost and the influence of new technologies. U.S. suppliers, dominating the import market, enjoy a good reputation. Major third-country competitors include Germany, Denmark/Finland and the U.K. Trade sources expect the demand for telemedicine/medical informatics to show a strong increase in the next few years.

4. Computer and Software Services

Two out of three Swedish companies and all enterprises with over 50 employees use IT. Over 70% of the Swedish population has access to a computer. The high penetration in Sweden can be explained by a decline in prices and previously introduced employee purchase schemes. Some key drivers for the IT services sector have been the high Internet penetration and the introduction of E-business, the emergence of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and SCM (Supply Chain Management) and the deregulation of and privatization in the telecommunication and utility markets. The consulting market declined by 1.9% last year, the operations management experienced the strongest growth with a 4.8%. Implementation and support services were on a par with zero growth. U.S. companies are well represented in the segment and will continue to see business opportunities in the Swedish market.

5. Computer Hardware

Sweden is one of the most computerized countries in the world. Around 9% of GDP is invested in ICT and as many as 71% of the Swedish population between the ages of 7 and 79 have PCs at home. The Swedish hardware market experienced negative growth in 2002 (-3.9%) and the same is expected for 2003. The low-end server market was the segment with the least negative growth (-.5%). In the PC segment, desktops fared better than laptops, -1.8% versus –9.3%. The PC market is expected to show negative growth in 2003 as well whereas servers, especially mid-range servers, will show positive growth (around 12%). The printer segment is expected to see positive growth. The entire hardware market is expected to recover in 2004, when most market segments are forecast to show positive growth. U.S. suppliers are very successful in the Swedish market, and with Sweden’s IT maturity, there will continue to be opportunities for U.S. companies.

6. Biotechnology

The Swedish biotech industry continues to show a steady increase. Drug discovery and development is the clearly dominant application sector where more than fifty percent of the companies and employees are found. Other important sectors include biotech supplies, bioproduction, food (functional food), agribiotech and environmental biotechnology. The Swedish biotech industry, with some 200 firms, is Europe’s fourth largest and the largest when measured in relation to both population and GDP.

The reason for the strong growth of the biotechnology industry in Sweden is the close cooperation with industry and university research. The presence of the two pharmaceutical firms AstraZeneca and Pharmacia Corporation has stimulated growth of the Swedish biotechnology industry, not only in the pharmaceutical and medical areas but also for example in the biotech supplies area. The two companies have collaborated closely with Swedish university groups and in doing so also provided financing.
Although Swedish biotech companies are active in research and development, it is difficult to find an all-Swedish innovation in biotechnology. As many as 64 per cent of the companies state that they are engaged in international networks and strategic alliances.

CS Stockholm believes that the Swedish biotech industry provides an excellent opportunity for U.S. companies to establish joint ventures and strategic alliance partners.

7. Automotive Parts and Accessories

Sweden, with a population of about 8.9 million, had 4 million cars at the end of 2002. This corresponds to one car to every 2.2 people. The number of commercial vehicles was 409,000. Half the fleet of cars in use today is at least 10 years old, which is a high proportion compared to many other European countries.

The total import of automotive parts and accessories (HS 87.08) was worth dollars 2.9 billion in 2002. Major supplying countries were Germany (35 %), U.K. (10%) and Belgium (10%). U.S. suppliers accounted for 4.1 percent of the import market.

The best sales prospects exist for products within the "safety" and "environment" sectors. Swedes are very safety conscious and the automotive manufacturers are known to follow high safety standards. In the aftermarket sector products that are related to the Swedish climate enjoy good prospects. Examples are engine heaters for the winter and roof boxes for skis. Steering wheels, rims, mirrors and decorations for the exterior of the car also sell well. Extra lights are also popular, especially as it is very dark for 6 months of the year in Sweden. Areas where US suppliers are doing well are within brake systems, steering systems, body parts and gearboxes/transmissions. Car care products and automotive chemicals are other segments where U.S. firms are strong

8. Telecommunications Services

The Swedish market for telecommunications services has been liberalized since 1993. As much as 99% of the Swedish population has access to a fixed line phone and mobile phone penetration is around 90%. The market for fixed line telephony is decreasing slightly while the number of Internet customers is increasing steadily with a growth of 13% in 2002. Around 15% of Internet connections are high speed. The most common form of access is via ADSL (13%), the others are either cable or Ethernet/LAN. Many call Stockholm the wireless capital of the world. Ericsson has been a huge driver behind Sweden’s role and a large number of U.S. companies have established development centers in the region. Last year, the telecommunications service market increased by 6.5%.

The largest growth, 18.9%, was seen in the switched data and leased lines segment followed by CaTV 13.5%. The market is expected to increase by 5.9% during 2003 and growth will again be heaviest in the switched data and leased line segment and followed by CaTV. The strong growth in the CaTV sector is the result of increased interest in Internet access via this medium. With its prominent position in the communications sector, Sweden is quite often used as a test bed for international companies and a large number of Swedish companies look to U.S. companies for partnerships inside and outside Sweden.

9. Renewable Energy Equipment

Sweden generates a high proportion of energy using renewable energy sources, such as hydro power, biofuels, wind power, and even solar, wave and geothermal power. Following the EU directives and regulations, Sweden is currently concentrating on improving and establishing long-term conditions for wider use of renewable energy resources, including new plant construction, incentives funding and industry harmonization.

Sweden is one of the EU countries that have passed the Green Certificate system that came into force in early 2003. The objectives include facilitating the construction of renewable energy production plants and stimulating technical development.

The plants that will be entitled Green Certificates produce electricity with the aid of wind power, solar energy, geothermal energy, certain types of biofuel, wave energy and hydroelectric power. There are good opportunities for US companies on both plant technology and equipment for all the above renewables.

10. Pollution Control Equipment

The environment is one of the most important issues of our times. Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to recognize the growing environmental problems and include these on the political agenda. Environmental awareness increased during the 1960s and older regulations governing health care and water pollution were replaced by new legislation to control the emissions of all types of pollution.

Swedish environmental technologies and services firms are active in the areas of air pollution, water pollution, waste management and environmental monitoring. Domestic suppliers of pollution control equipment are strong and world leaders in their respective field, but they look for new development in Research and Development and the application for new techniques. American products enjoy a good reputation on the market but will find strong competition from both domestic firms as well as third-country suppliers. According to trade sources, the market for water treatment control is mature and well covered, while best sales prospects may be found in products and services related to air pollution control, soil remediation and waste management products/techniques.

11. Drugs and Pharmaceuticals

During the past two decades, the Swedish pharmaceutical industry has grown and established itself as one of Sweden’s two most important growth industries. Domestic industry is active in research and drug sales in the areas of oncology, growth disorders and eye diseases, gastrointestinal, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The U.S. market share (41.8%) is the highest among foreign suppliers. American pharmaceutical firms are considered world-leaders in research and production, consequently their products enjoy a good reputation. The Swedish pharmaceutical market is highly competitive, but according to trade sources the following areas should represent opportunities for new entrants in the market: antibiotics, anti-asthmatics, impotence treatment, treatments for Alzheimer, AIDS and cancer.

12. Telecommunications Equipment

The Swedish telecommunications market is characterized by a sophisticated infrastructure with 69.6 lines per 100 inhabitants, a mobile phone penetration of around 90%, and PC penetration of over 70%. Around 65% of Sweden’s population has home access to the Internet. If we include access at work and school, penetration climbs to around 80%. The Swedish Government will invest in the expansion of a broadband network worth $904 million. Expansion of the existing capacity is also being carried out in the backbone and city networks. Extensive expansion of the municipal IT infrastructure has also been carried out over the past few years and will continue through 2007. Ericsson has been a huge driver of the development of Swedish telecommunications in general and mobile communications in particular.

The largest increase last year was in the mobile sector, which grew by 13%. It is forecast that the market will increase by around 2% in 2003. The largest growth is expected in mobile telephones, LAN hardware, transmission and cellular mobile radio infrastructure. The country is in the forefront of wireless communications and as a result a large number of U.S. companies have established wireless development centers in the country. Among those companies are Microsoft, IBM, Motorola and Intel. The Swedish market will continue to be a good, albeit small, market for U.S. companies that offer sophisticated technology.

13. Security and Safety Equipment

The Swedish market for safety and security equipment has grown significantly in the recent years and the current turnover reaches USD 3.8 billion. The estimated growth percentage in 2004 is 15%. The 9-11 changed the whole concept of security thinking even in Sweden and added a more tangible threat of both conventional and cyber terrorism and NCB attacks. In addition to the traditional security issues, concerns such as BCP, airport and hotel security and protection against biological agents came into focus.

The most promising sub-sectors are equipment for both domestic and corporate security and protection, ranging from simple alarms and protective devices to complex LSM-systems that integrate fire alarm, passage control, area control and CCTV. In the IT security market the largest subgroups are firewalls, identification systems, anti virus programs, PKI, intrusion detection and backup equipment.

U.S. products enjoy a good reputation in the Swedish market. The main competitors are domestic manufacturers and German and U.K. suppliers. There are no trade barriers or market impediments for security and safety equipment.

14. Sports and Leisure products

The sports and leisure products market and imports from the US are up some 5 percent over last year. The total sporting goods market is worth approximately $930 million. US producers traditionally have a strong position in the medium to high-end segments. All ball sports products; winter sports products and water sports are dominated by US manufacturers. The market is still covered at 70+ percent by three local distributors. Bicycles, sportswear & shoes, and sports equipment continue to be the main volumes of the market turnover.