ดัชนีเชื่อมั่น เดือน พ.ย. พุ่ง ส.อ.ท. แนะรัฐเร่งฟื้นฟูน้ำท่วม–หนุนพลังงานสะอาดConfidence Index for November Soars, FTI Urges Government to Accelerate Flood Recovery and Support Clean Energy

On Wednesday, December 17, 2025, Mr. Kriangkrai Theeranukul, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), along with Mr. Pipob Chokwatana, Executive Committee of FTI and Vice Chairman of the Economic and Academic Sector, FTI, Mr. Apichit Pasornrat, Vice Chairman of FTI, and Ms. Phanrat Phetphakdee, Director-General of FTI, jointly announced the results of the industrial confidence index survey for November 2025, which stands at 89.1, an increase from 87.3 in October 2025.

The rise in the index is attributed to several key factors, including stimulus measures such as the “Half-Half” project, “Good Trip, Back Home” initiative, and the replenishment of the state welfare card, which have helped alleviate the cost of living for the public and positively impacted the consumption of food, beverages, and consumer goods continuously. Additionally, the onset of the High Season has had a favorable effect on the consumption of goods and industries related to tourism. Meanwhile, producers have accelerated manufacturing to meet increased orders for sales during the year-end festival and ahead of the long holiday in December. In the commercial sector, trade negotiations to expand the Thai export market, such as rice trading through government-to-government (G2G) agreements with China (500,000 tons) and Singapore (100,000 tons), have helped broaden the export market for farmers, leading to increased income and purchasing power at the regional level. Moreover, the accelerated disbursement of the 2026 budget (from October 1 to November 21, 2025) stood at 24.18% against the target of 33% in the first quarter, which has also facilitated cash flow in the economy and supported the overall growth of economic activities.

However, in November, there were still several negative factors pressuring the economy, including the flooding situation in the southern region, which significantly impacted industrial plants and residences, resulting in damages of approximately 20,000-30,000 million baht in December 2025 and is expected to have a continuing impact in 2026, amounting to around 90,000 million baht. At the same time, the temporary suspension of the peace agreement with Cambodia has prolonged the conflict situation, continuously affecting border trade. The intense competition from imports has also been a significant pressure point, evidenced by a 16.3% year-on-year increase in imports during the first ten months of 2025, and an 8.68% month-on-month increase from the previous month, particularly for electrical circuit boards (+28.69% YoY), plastic products (+14.33% YoY), and steel (+8.23% YoY), which have evidently impacted domestic operators. Furthermore, the Thai baht continues to strengthen more than competing countries in the region, with a decrease of 5.77% year-to-date (compared to the exchange rate on January 1 to November 26, 2025), which is another factor affecting the income and competitiveness of Thai exporters.

From the survey of 1,330 operators covering 47 industrial groups of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) in November 2025, it was found that the concerns regarding various factors have decreased, including domestic economy (61.7%), global economy (56.2%), government policies (42.3%), access to credit (26.4%), energy prices (26.2%), and loan interest rates (20.4%). Meanwhile, the increased concerns among operators centered on exchange rates (especially from the exporters' perspective) at 49.5%.

The three-month forecast index stands at 94.9, rising from 93.5 in October 2025, driven by several positive factors, including the resolution of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to reduce electricity rates for the period from January to April 2026 to 3.88 baht per unit, which will help lower operators' costs and ease the public's living expenses. Additionally, the Motor Expo 2025 event, scheduled from November 29 to December 10, 2025, is expected to stimulate domestic automobile sales.

Moreover, the “Half-Half” project phase 2 and the replenishment of the state welfare card, anticipated to commence in January 2026, will further support expenditure growth at the beginning of the year.

Despite the positive signals from the aforementioned factors, the Thai economy still faces significant challenges, particularly as the damages from the major flooding require urgent recovery and assistance to return the affected areas and economic activities to normalcy quickly. Additionally, the delay in trade negotiations between the United States and Thailand may impact Thailand's export sector in the near future.

Recommendations to the Government:
1. It is recommended that the government promptly implement relief measures for operators affected by the southern flooding, such as accelerating insurance companies to promptly pay compensation, establishing a fund for machinery repairs, and implementing 0% interest loans and land and building tax exemptions for flood victims, etc.
2. It is recommended that the government elevate the management of flooding issues and water resource management to a national agenda by urgently developing flood prevention infrastructure systematically, improving drainage canals alongside advancements in rain forecasting and early warning systems, and enhancing the population database and disaster management structures, as well as revising city planning to enhance long-term disaster prevention and mitigation effectiveness.
3. It is recommended that the government consider the direct purchase of electricity from clean energy between producers and energy users (Direct PPA) to extend to other industrial sectors beyond just data centers, to increase energy options and support the industrial sector's transition to clean energy.

In conclusion, the FTI has compiled data from the industrial confidence index survey and economic and industrial indicators from various agencies over the past three years to create a dashboard published on the FTI's Industry Data Space (iDS) website to facilitate operators and the general public in accessing valuable business data. This information can be accessed at https://fti.or.th/ids

The FTI aims to “Strengthen Thai Industries for a Stronger Thailand.”

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Published by the Corporate Communications Department, Federation of Thai Industries (Tel. 0-2345-1051)
Prepared by the Economic and Academic Department, Federation of Thai Industries (Tel. 0-2345-1111)