Global trends impacting the steel industry

  Climate change and scarce resources Population growth and urbanization Digitalization Changing global market conditions
Impacts on the steel industry • Increasing demand for steel with a low climate impact
• Increasing cost of carbon emissions, especially within the EU
• Development of more resource and carbon-efficient products and processes
• Climate change can affect steel production and supply chains
• Increasing demand for steel in the construction, infrastructure and energy sectors
• Increasing demand for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings and traffic solutions
• Digital services provide greater availability of more efficient control systems and increased transparency in the value chain
• E-commerce and digital platforms impact market dynamics
• Higher importance of regional markets because of growing protectionism and trade policy restrictions
• Changed supply chains due to increasing regionalization, disruptions due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and shutdowns related to Covid-19
• Increasing demand for steel in developing economies
Examples of how SSAB responds to the trends • SSAB intends to be the first steel company to launch, in 2026, fossil-free steel at a commercial scale and to replace blast furnaces and coke plants with electric arc furnaces in around 2030 • SSAB offers a broad range of steel products used in construction and infrastructure, for example for construction machinery and renewable energy installations • SSAB develops the portfolio of digital services and tools as well as new business areas such as additive manufacturing
• SSAB works with the use of robotics, machine learning and advanced analysis to improve production stability and increase process efficiency
• SSAB continues to secure home market positions and improve production capacity to enable each site to cover a better range of products
• SSAB works to improve its position on emerging markets for high-strength steel