RISE SEEN IN PRODUCTION
The Office of Industrial Economics forecast that the manufacturing production index (MPI) will rise 2 to 3 per cent this year, and the country’s manufacturing gross domestic product should rise by the same percentage.
Director-general Nattapol Rangsitpol said the MPI stood at 115.08 last year, up 2.8 per cent from a year ago – within the growth target framework of 2.5 to 3 per cent.
Last year’s utilisation rate was 68.46 per cent, up from 67.12 per cent in 2017.
December’s MPI edged up 0.75 per cent year-on-year, led by automobiles, sugar, electronics parts and integrated circuit boards, while the fourth-quarter figure advanced 2.43 per cent year-on-year.
The country’s manufacturing GDP is also estimated to increase 2 to 3 per cent this year, Nattapol said.
