In October, Thailand saw a decline in its manufacturing production index with a fall of 0.91% year-over-year, as revealed by the nation’s industry ministry. This decrease was slightly less than experts had predicted in a Reuters survey, which anticipated a drop of 1.85% for October.
September had experienced an annual decline of 3.51%. The contraction in the factory output for the first ten months of 2024 was tallied at 1.63% from the prior year, and the ministry’s forecast predicts a fall of 1.6% for the entire year.
The dwindling numbers can be largely attributed to lower car production and rising household debt, which has resulted in less consumer spending. Statistics by the Federation of Thai Industries indicate that car production had a massive dip of 25.13% in October compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, stringent autos lending from banks diminishing demand from consumers, marking a downward trend for the 15th consecutive month.
Nevertheless, the industry ministry expects to witness a rebound next year, with a predicted rise of 1.5% to 2.5% in factory output. The Office of Industrial Economics’ director-general, Passakorn Chairat, is confident that increased import activities will facilitate this expected upswing. October’s import figures were up by 15.9% year-over-year, while exports saw an annual rise of 14.6%.
