BANGKOK: Thailand’s manufacturing production fell for the 17th straight month in February, down 2.84% from a year earlier, due to lower car production and high household debt, the industry ministry said on Thursday.
The fall was less than the 3.9% year-on-year slump expected for February in a Reuters poll, and followed January’s 2.94% fall from a year earlier.
Auto production was down for the seventh consecutive month due to weak domestic demand and exports, Warawan Chitaroon, head of the Office of Industrial Economics, told a briefing.
In the January-February period, factory output dropped 2.88% year-on-year.
The ministry forecasts manufacturing output to rise 2% to 3% this year after falling 3.78% in 2023.
In February, auto production fell 19.28% from a year earlier, largely due to a decline in production of pickup trucks and an increase in imports of electric vehicles (EVs), according to the Federation of Thai Industries.
Thailand is a regional automaking hub. Industrial goods account for about 80% of total exports, which rose 3.6% year-on-year in February, less than expected.
That compared to January’s 10% increase annually.
Thai Jan factory output drops 2.94% y/y, beats forecast
Thailand has one of the region’s highest ratios of household debt, at 16.2 trillion baht ($445.4 billion) or 90.9% of gross domestic product (GDP), as at the end of September 2023.
Hospitality-related industries including alcohol, however, were benefiting from brighter tourism prospects, said Warawan.
Thailand has received 8.73 million foreign tourists this year as at March 24, up 44% year-on-year.
The government is aiming for a record 40 million foreign visitors this year following the 28 million in 2023.
Comments