BANGKOK, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial output picked up further in August, mainly due to rising demand for electronics amid the artificial intelligence (AI) and data center boom, official data showed on Wednesday.
The Southeast Asian country's manufacturing production index (MPI) rose 4.44 percent last month compared to a year earlier, up from a revised 3.97 percent gain in July, according to the Ministry of Industry.
The index stood at 103.43 in August, up 0.11 percent from the previous month. Capacity utilization increased to 58.28 percent from 57.55 percent in July.
The August figures are the first under a revised methodology. The ministry's Office of Industrial Economics (OIE) said the revision makes the index better reflect the current structure of Thai industry.
The agency has added products that now play a major role in the production structure, namely notebook and laptop computers, optical transceivers, and backup power units for processors, said OIE Director-General Supakit Boonsiri.
The sample also now includes newly opened factories making integrated circuits and other electronic components, Supakit told a news conference.
Communications equipment led the growth, jumping 24.41 percent year-on-year, driven by optical transceivers, as global AI and data center infrastructure spending continued to grow, he said.
Primary plastics and synthetic rubber posted the steepest decline, falling 13.37 percent. Some plants shut for maintenance, and some producers ran short of raw materials owing to the impact of tensions in the Middle East, he noted.
The ministry upgraded its MPI growth outlook to between 2.75 percent and 3.75 percent this year, from 0 percent to 0.5 percent in an earlier projection. ■
