Thailand: Manufacturing output picks up steam in January
Manufacturing output expanded 3.4% in January on an annual basis, up from December’s 2.3% expansion. Notable contractions in the manufacturing of textiles and of machinery and equipment were offset by solid growth in the production of food products; wearing apparel; and motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers.
In seasonally-adjusted month-on-month terms, however, manufacturing output contracted 1.7% in December, significantly below the prior month’s revised 0.6% contraction (previously reported: -0.8% month-on-month). Despite the month-on-month drop in production output, annual average growth in manufacturing output inched up to 1.7% from 1.6% in December, the highest reading since March 2017.