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The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) has released its quarterly monitoring results for the first quarter of 2026. The findings reveal a notable shift in the perceived constraints on corporate activity and the strategic measures companies are planning to adopt in response to prevailing economic conditions.
Declining Demand Emerges as the Primary Constraint
For the first time in recent quarters, declining demand for goods and services has become the most frequently cited obstacle to business operations. Some 37.6 percent of respondents identified weak demand as a key constraint, representing an increase of 4.5 percentage points from the fourth quarter of 2025. This marks a significant shift in sentiment, suggesting that demand-side pressures are now eclipsing other operational challenges.
Payment Delinquencies Ease, Financial Constraints Remain Acute
The issue of non-payments by counterparties, which had been the dominant concern in the previous quarter with 42.3 percent of mentions, receded somewhat in Q1 2026. Its share fell by 8.1 percentage points to 34.1 percent. However, financial constraints remain highly prominent. Approximately one-quarter of surveyed companies cited limited access to borrowed financial resources and insufficient working capital as major impediments. Notably, compared to the previous quarter, the significance of access to finance has increased, while the urgency of working capital shortages has moderated slightly.
Sanctions and Fiscal Pressures Register as Secondary Concerns
Western sanctions were cited as a negative factor by 16.5 percent of respondents, while 14.1 percent reported that increased fiscal burdens, including both tax and non-tax payments, had adversely affected their operations. Just over one-tenth of companies (11.8 percent) pointed to the inability to acquire new equipment and technologies due to import restrictions, and an identical share cited sharp increases in domestic product prices.
Logistics, Currency, and Debt Constraints Affect a Smaller Cohort
Logistics-related issues—including delivery disruptions for raw materials and components, deteriorating transport conditions, and worsening supply terms—constrained activity for 10.6 percent of participating organizations. Currency instability was cited by an equal proportion. Slightly fewer respondents (just below 10 percent) reported that rising debt burdens from loans and bond issuances were hampering operations, while 9.4 percent noted a reduction in production volumes.
Investment and Cross-Border Payment Constraints Are Less Widespread
Two distinct constraints were each cited by 7.2 percent of companies: the reduction or postponement of investment programmes and the inability to conduct payments with foreign counterparties. Compared to Q4 2025, fewer respondents indicated that they had been forced to scale back their investment projects, suggesting a modest stabilization in this area.
Only a Small Minority Face Severe Partnership or Administrative Disruptions
Fewer than 4 percent of surveyed companies identified the following as significant constraints: partner withdrawals from joint projects, rising prices for foreign goods, contract repricing, bank payment delays, and increased administrative burdens. Approximately one-tenth of enterprises reported encountering no problems that negatively affected their financial performance or economic position.
Corporate Response Strategies Shift Toward Cost Containment
When asked about planned measures to improve efficiency under current conditions, an overwhelming majority of companies—65.4 percent—stated that they intend to reduce expenses. This represents a notable decline from the fourth quarter of 2025, when 82.5 percent of respondents indicated similar plans, suggesting that aggressive cost-cutting may have already been implemented in prior periods.
Energy Efficiency and Digitalization Gain Traction
Energy and resource conservation programmes are being planned by 28.4 percent of organizations, an increase of 6.5 percentage points from the previous quarter. Digital technology implementation projects are on the agenda for 16 percent of enterprises, though this marks a decline from 27 percent in Q4 2025, when digitalization was the second most popular strategic priority.
Investment, Pricing, and Production Adjustments Are Less Common
Some 14.8 percent of companies intend to maintain or increase investment volumes. A further 12.3 percent plan to restructure their cost base without reducing overall expenditure or output. An equal share of respondents indicated they would intensify production, demand advance payments from customers, or cease advance payments to suppliers. Price increases are being considered by 11.1 percent of companies, while the same proportion plans to scale back investment programmes.
Import Substitution and Asset Sales Remain Niche Responses
Import substitution programmes are being developed by 8.6 percent of participating organizations. Fewer than 5 percent of respondents reported plans to reduce production volumes, sell non-core or even core assets, revise supplier lists due to import restrictions, or seek new export destinations in response to Western sanctions.
Where Costs Will Be Cut: Administration, Services, and Now Labour
Among companies planning expense reductions, administrative and general overhead costs remain the primary target, cited by more than 80 percent. Reductions in spending on purchased services, including consulting, also remain popular. However, a sharp reassessment has occurred regarding raw material and component savings: the share of companies planning cuts in this area fell from 30.1 percent in Q4 2025 to just 13.9 percent in Q1 2026.
Conversely, the popularity of personnel-related cost reductions has increased significantly, rising from 12.4 percent to 25 percent. Social and charitable programme spending remains a target for 23.6 percent of organizations, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter.
Personnel Reduction Strategies Focus on Hiring Freezes and Layoffs
Among companies planning to cut personnel costs, the most common measure is a reduction in new hiring. Approximately half of these organizations also indicated they would consider dismissing employees, shifting staff to part-time arrangements, or placing workers on unpaid leave. One respondent added a custom response: plans include reducing overtime, optimizing headcount allocation, replacing outsourced staff with newly available permanent employees, and, if necessary, providing retraining at the company's expense.
The RSPP's Q1 2026 monitoring reveals a business environment increasingly constrained by weakening demand, while financial pressures—though still acute—have shown some signs of stabilization. Companies are pivoting away from broad-based cost cuts toward more targeted measures, with a renewed focus on labour cost reduction and operational efficiency. The decline in planned digitalization investments and the modest uptick in energy efficiency programmes suggest a recalibration of priorities toward immediate, tangible savings.