Ilya Vedmedenko12:55, 13.11.25

About 6.7 thousand Russian carriers are in the process of liquidation or bankruptcy.

Russian transport companies have begun leaving the freight market en masse due to rising costs and a sharp decline in profitability, The Moscow Times reports .

“The main reason is that carriers simply can’t cope financially. The average cost is currently around 85-86 rubles per kilometer, and tariffs have only recovered to 74.7 rubles,” says Alexey Ivanov, owner of the Alliance Trucks commercial vehicle dealership chain.

Carriers are finding it increasingly difficult to pay leasing fees, which is why a massive return of equipment has been observed since the end of last year.

“This situation hasn’t happened in the last 17 years. The volume of seized equipment is breaking records and has been increasing by 20% monthly since June 2025,” asserts Mikhail Ustyuzhanin, founder of Lider Trans.

In addition to rising production costs, the industry was also pressured by rising recycling fees. Effective January 1, 2026, they will increase by 10%, to nearly 3 million rubles for a long-haul truck with a payload capacity of up to 20 tons.

It is also known that starting next year, Russian carriers will no longer be able to operate under the patent taxation system. This will increase the financial burden on transport companies. As a result, at least 7% of them may leave the market.

Russia’s economic crisis – other news

The Russian economy is experiencing a growing crisis . Earlier, it was reported that workers at Russia’s largest automaker, AvtoVAZ, had begun resigning en masse due to wage cuts.

The latter is due to the transition to a shorter work week, which has led to the disappearance of bonuses and overtime pay.

AvtoVAZ’s difficulties are attributed to weak sales – it was previously reported that from January to August of this year, sales of Lada cars fell by almost 25% , amounting to only 211.3 thousand units.

(C)UNIAN 2025