INSIDE RUSSIA

Howdy, friends!
I’m finishing up FRIDAY CRAZY NEWS UPDATE, will air it tomorrow, Saturday the 25th.
Please join at the usual time here https://youtube.com/live/mio2O2a5Dbo?…

Now I have an interesting news for you. Country’s only commercial truck manufacturer KAMAZ has made an official public statement today, announcing layoffs and blaming foreign competition for making truck so good that Russian companies prefer them instead of KAMAZ.
Here’s the statement:

“The official comment of KAMAZ PJSC on the current state of the market for commercial vehicles weighing over 14 tons and the implementation of a shorter working week.
The Russian truck market for vehicles weighing over 14 tons is experiencing a crisis: by the end of the first half of this year, it has decreased by almost 60% compared to the previous year.
Causes:
1. Short-sighted policies of importers of foreign equipment. Despite forecasts of a decreasing market, they imported an excessive amount last year. This has led to over 30,000 trucks currently sitting in the warehouses of these companies. These trucks cannot find buyers even at discount prices, which dealers are actively offering.
2. The Central Bank’s monetary policy has led not only to the inability of companies to purchase new equipment through financial instruments such as loans and leases, but has also forced transport and other businesses to return equipment they leased last year to their lessors. According to estimates, more than 10,000 units of this equipment have accumulated in the warehouses of leasing companies, where it is being sold at a significant discount below market value, despite being in good condition.
Given the current forecast for the Russian truck market for over 14-ton vehicles in 2025, which ranges from 40,000 to 60,000 units, and considering that over 20,000 have already been sold in the first half of the year, primarily from existing stocks, there is no reason to expect an increase in sales of equipment manufactured in 2025.
In this situation, Russian truck manufacturers have been forced to take drastic measures to reduce production in order to maintain their financial stability and avoid layoffs. One such measure is a shortened workweek, which has been introduced by several Russian automotive companies.
These challenges in the Russian truck market have also affected KAMAZ. Despite a decrease in sales of around 30% compared to the previous year, KAMAZ’s market share has grown to 40%, excluding the state budget. Thanks to previous efforts, the company managed to secure stable orders for the first half of the year.
However, the lack of market growth prospects and the pressure from importers with remaining inventory have forced us to take responsibility and introduce unpopular but necessary measures, such as reducing production and announcing the introduction of a reduced workweek starting from August 1st.”

As usual in Russia it’s somebody else’s fault – the foreign truck importing companies who bring superior foreign made trucks to Russia and steal sales of KAMAZ, the Central Bank trying to stabilize the inflation with high key interest rate, etc. The war in Ukraine? Oh, no, it has nothing to do with the crisis in the economy – a perfect case of “Russian logic”. I will have that and more in tomorrow’s WEEKEND CRAZY NEWS UPDATE.