Reshaping landscapes: Where energy-intensive industries will compete next
Energy price volatility, political friction, and infrastructure constraints are shifting the industrials industry map. Our Chemicals, Energy, and Materials Study 2025 shows clear patterns: trade-exposed sectors are moving capital across borders while demand-tied sectors double down locally. For businesses, the next growth chapter depends on matching footprint to energy realities.
Energy-intensive industries are facing an unambiguous choice: compete or retreat. The old footprint logic of optimizing around labor and taxes, assuming energy and policy are stable, no longer holds. Executives now weigh energy reliability and affordability alongside tax and labor in their next site decisions. There’s now a recognition that energy access defines site competitiveness.
