Economic Assessment of the Concentration of Water Transport in the Republic of Tatarstan

Water transport services in the Republic of Tatarstan are provided by more than 70 enterprises. The volume of trade turnover increased from 6 to 18 billion rubles from 2018 to 2022. This growth was due to a slight increase in the companies’ assets from 7.5 to 8.8 billion rubles. This is due to the increase in economic activity after the COVID-19 pandemic, the abandonment of Russian markets by foreign companies and the emergence of free market niches that Russian manufacturers are actively developing, as well as the relatively low cost of transport services. The object of research is water transport of the Republic of Tatarstan. This region is located in the Volga-Kama basin. It has a favorable economic and geographical position and is the leader of the Volga Federal District in terms of economic development indicators. There are 5 largest companies on the market, which have controlled more than 70% of the market turnover for five years. Moreover, these companies own about 35% of total assets. A high level of capitalization of firms does not ensure a high level of sales concentration. The market leader is Tatbunker LLC. The closest competitors are SK Bunker LLC and BunkerTrade LLC, each occupying approximately 17% of the market. All three companies specialize in the supply and bunkering of petroleum products and fuel. KRK LLC operates in Naberezhnye Chelny. It is focused on a narrow market segment and covers local consumers. JSC SK Tatflot is one of the largest enterprises operating in the Volga and Kama waters, but is now undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. Economic concentration in the market has increased over the past 5 years. Small companies operate in local market segments. They provide services for transporting passengers and goods (crushed stone, rock gravel, natural sand, sand and gravel mixtures, etc.), and yachting. Barriers to entry into the market are relatively low. We found a weak relationship between market share and market power of water transport companies. In future, one may expect that the trend will preserve to increase concentration and market power of the companies.