Thailand’s manufacturing activity continued to expand strongly in February, with the pace of output growth accelerating to the fastest on record as demand increased, the S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI survey showed on 1 March.
The headline S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI – a composite indicator for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times, and stocks of purchases – climbed for the third consecutive month in February, to 54.8, up from 54.5 in January, the survey showed.
The rise in the PMI signalled improving business conditions for the fourteenth consecutive month, with the February figure reflecting the second strongest overall expansion of the sector in the survey history, S&P Global said.
The pace of output growth accelerated to the fastest on record in February as some 51% of survey respondents reported higher goods production compared to just 4% that experienced a decline in February compared to January.
Demand conditions improved as new orders for Thailand’s manufactured goods expanded at the quickest pace in five months, according to the S&P Global survey.
Moreover, Thai manufacturers ramped up buying activity to the second fastest pace on record.
“The latest S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI revealed that the Thai manufacturing sector remained in a strong expansion mode midway into the first quarter. Better demand conditions supported the record growth in manufacturing production, although firms primarily worked through backlogged orders as new order expansion stayed moderate,” said Jingyi Pan, Economics Associate Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence.
“Overall business confidence rose, but what will be important is to see demand conditions further improve, including foreign demand, to sustain the ongoing strong output performance,” Pan added.