Facts and key ratios
Facts about the Swedish iron and steel industry.
Production plants
- Three integrated ore-based iron and steel plants.
- Eleven scrap-based steel plants.
- About fifteen finishing plants.
Production
- Crude steel production in 2023: 4.3 million tonnes (world production: 1.850 million tonnes).
- Special steels represent a high share of total production. Alloy steels comprised 55% of the production in 2023.
- Very niche-oriented production with ever greater focus on steel that delivers environmental benefits from a life-cycle perspective.
- One third of the crude steel production is scrap-based and two thirds are ore-based production (learn more: Processes).
- Production of approx. 2 million tonnes of residues (2018), of which 78% is used internally or sold and 22% goes to landfill.
Foreign trade
- Most of the manufactured steel products are exported.
- Export value in 2022: SEK 73.3 billion.
- Export volume in 2022: 3.1 million tonnes.
- In 2022, steel exports went to 148 countries. Nearly 65% of the total went to the EU and Great Britain.
- Major share of the feedstock input is Swedish, e.g. iron ore, scrap, electricity and limestone.
- Coke and alloying elements as well as oil and natural gas are imported.
Energy
- Energy consumption in 2021: 20 TWh.
- Electricity consumption in 2021: 3,6 TWh.
- Sale of about 2 TWh of energy annually in the form of process gases, electricity and district heating.
Emissions
- 1.9 ktonnes of nitrogen oxides (2019)
- 1.2 ktonnes of sulphur oxides (2019)
- 5.7 Mtonnes of carbon dioxide (2022, according to statistics from the EU emissions trading system)
Employment
- Employment in 2023: 16,600 persons.
- Indirect employment in 2023: 28,000 persons*.
*) Estimated with an employment multiplier of 2.69 based on an input/output-analysis.
