Thailand’s manufacturing sector expanded for a fifth month in a row in May, with production growth accelerating to the fastest rate on record, the latest S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI survey showed on 1 June.
The S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI™ is compiled by S&P Global from responses to questionnaires sent to purchasing managers in a panel of around 400 manufacturers stratified by detailed sector and company workforce size, based on contributions to GDP.
The S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI stood at above the 50.0 threshold of expansion, at 51.9 in May, unchanged from April. This signals an improvement in the health of the Thai manufacturing sector, S&P Global said. The increase in May 2022 was the fifth consecutive month in which the manufacturing sector in Thailand expanded.
The headline S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI is a composite single-figure indicator of manufacturing performance and is derived from indicators for new orders, output, employment, suppliers’ delivery times and stocks of purchases. Any figure above 50.0 indicates an overall improvement in manufacturing conditions.
Yet, higher product costs and competition from foreign manufacturers led to a decline in domestic sales, while the war in Ukraine was noted as a factor behind depressed international demand, S&P Global said.
Overall sentiment in the Thai manufacturing sector remained positive, but the level of business confidence eased in May. Thai companies were generally hopeful that sales will improve going forward, but some were concerned about rising costs and competition.
Supply constraints drove higher purchasing activity and Thai manufacturers increased their quantity of purchases at a survey record rate in May, contributing to higher stocks of purchases, according to the S&P Global Thailand Manufacturing PMI.