- Exports to the United States fell by 18 percent in value in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the same period last year, which amounted to about SEK 9 billion. Exports of machinery/transport equipment accounted for the largest decrease to the United States says Maria Adolfsson, statistician at Statistics Sweden.

Summary

• In the first quarter of 2026, Swedish exports of goods decreased by 3 percent in value (in current prices) while they increased by 3 percent in terms of volume (in constant prices), compared with the same period a year ago. At the same time, imports of goods remained the same in value while they rose by 4 percent in volume.
• In the first quarter of 2026, the value of Swedish exports of goods amounted to SEK 519 billion. At the same time, the value of imports of goods amounted to SEK 506 billion.
• Net trade shows a surplus of SEK 13 billion in the first quarter of 2026. In the same period in 2025, there was a net trade surplus of SEK 31 billion.
• Compared with the previous quarter, Swedish exports of goods remained the same in both value and in volume. At the same time, imports of goods remained the same in value while they fell by 1 percent in volume.

Detailed information about the first quarter of 2026 (in current prices and in constant prices)

Exports of wood and paper products fell by 12 percent in value and by 4 percent in volume
Exports of machinery/transport equipment decreased by 3 percent in value while they increased by 1 percent in volume, compared with the same quarter last year. Within this product area, exports of passenger cars fell by 9 percent in value while they remained the same in volume. Exports of wood and paper products decreased by 12 percent in value, and by 4 percent in volume. Exports of chemicals/rubber products fell by 6 percent in value, while they rose by 10 percent in volume. Within this product area, exports of pharmaceutical products fell by 5 percent in value while they rose by 17 percent in volume. Exports of mineral fuels/electric current increased by 6 percent in value, and by 9 percent in volume.

Imports of electronics/telecommunications rose by 15 percent in value and by 17 percent in volume

Imports of machinery/transport equipment rose by 4 percent in value, and by 7 percent in volume, compared with the same quarter last year. Within this product area, imports of electronics/telecommunications increased by 15 percent in value, and by 17 percent in volume. Imports of wood and paper products decreased by 11 percent in value, and by 6 percent in volume. Imports of minerals increased by 4 percent in value, and by 3 percent in volume. Imports of mineral fuels/electric current fell by 6 percent in value, while they remained the same in volume. Within this product area, imports of crude petroleum oils decreased by 8 percent in value, while they increased by 3 percent in volume. Within the other products area, imports of food/beverages/tobacco remained the same in value, while they rose by 5 percent in volume.

Value and volume trends

The value index and the volume index describe nominal and real value trends over time. The real value trends describe trends in which price changes have been removed. The indices are chain indices with base year 2015=100.

The value index for exports of goods increased in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, while they remained the same in the volume index. The value index is lower compared with the same period last year, while the volume index is higher.

The value index for imports of goods remained the same in the first quarter of 2026 compared with the fourth quarter of 2025, while they decreased in the volume index. Both the value index and the volume index are higher compared with the same period last year.

Detailed information about January–March 2026 (in current prices)

Exports of goods to the United States fell by 18 percent
Sweden’s exports of goods to EU27 increased by 1 percent, and imports from there by 5 percent, compared with the same period a year ago. Exports to euro countries remained the same, while imports from there rose by 5 percent. Among the EU countries, exports to Germany fell by 1 percent, and to Denmark by 2 percent, while exports to Finland rose by 3 percent, and to the Netherlands by 11 percent. Imports from Germany increased by 1 percent, from Finland by 6 percent, and from the Netherlands by 15 percent, while imports from Denmark remained the same.

Exports to other European countries decreased by 2 percent, and imports from there by 4 percent. Exports to the United Kingdom fell by 10 percent, and imports from there by 3 percent. Exports to Norway decreased by 1 percent, while imports from there remained the same. Exports to Russia rose by 34 percent, while imports from there fell by 80 percent. In the period, exports of pharmaceutical products accounted for the increase to Russia.

Exports to Asia fell by 10 percent, and imports from there by 4 percent. Exports to China decreased by 16 percent, and imports from there by 6 percent.

Exports to the United States decreased by 18 percent, and imports from there by 8 percent. In the period, exports of machinery/transport equipment accounted for the largest decrease from the United States.