Russian giants cut rail transportation: Russia's economy slows down – Reuters
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Major Russian exporters, including aluminum giant Rusal and Gazpromneft, have reduced planned rail shipments, Reuters reported, citing an internal document from Russian Railways.

It is noted that the reduction in product shipments by Russian giants indicates a decline in demand amid a slowdown in the growth rate of the Russian military economy.

According to the agency, Russian Railways intends to reduce investment costs for 2025 by another $408 million (32.5 billion rubles), i.e. by 3.5%.

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The total investment volume will be $10.78 billion (858.4 billion rubles). The additional reduction comes after investments were already reduced by 40% compared to 2024 due to rising interest costs on loans.

The volume of rail transportation in Russia, which in 2024 fell to a minimum in the last 15 years, is considered a key indicator of the state of the country's economy.

According to the agency, it is expected that in 2025 Russian Railways will transport 36.7 million tons of cargo less than previously expected – 1.24 billion tons.

The document, obtained by Reuters, names ten major companies that are contributing to the reduction in rail traffic.

Among them are the aluminum giant Rusal, the steel company Severstal, and MMK.

While total cargo volumes this year are still expected to be slightly higher than the 1.18 billion tonnes in 2024, they fell 6.8% year-on-year between January and April, according to data on its website.

In January-April 2025, the volume of transportation decreased by 6.8% compared to the same period of the previous year.

Among the main reasons for the decline in Russian Railways were:

  • the high discount rate of the Central Bank of Russia (21%), which is holding back construction;
  • decrease in steel production and demand;
  • Western sanctions that hit the metallurgy, oil, and woodworking industries;
  • reduction in exports to China (trade volumes with China have decreased by 7.5% since the beginning of the year);
  • drone attacks on oil refineries.

Analysts note that Russia's export-oriented economy is slowing down.

In particular, the metallurgical industry, which accounts for up to 5% of Russia's GDP, has lost access to lucrative markets due to sanctions, and steel production continues to decline.

These signals indicate a slowdown in the pace of development of Russia's military economy.