In H1 2020, the Thai economy contracted by 6.9% Y-o-Y, decelerating from the 1.8% expansion recorded in H2 2019 as the COVID-19 pandemic weakened domestic and global economic conditions significantly.

On the expenditure side, private consumption and government consumption expenditure
declined by 2.1% and 0.7% respectively. Total investment fell by 7.2% as private investment declined by 10.2%. However, public investment increased by 1.2% as remedial measures to stabilize and restore the ailing Thai economy were rolled out. Exports of goods and services contracted by 17.6% in real terms, largely attributable to manufacturing products which were affected by temporary shutdowns and reduced global
demand. Meanwhile, imports contracted by 13.2% in real terms as consumer goods declined in both durable and non-durable goods by virtue of lower purchasing power in private consumption.

On the production side, the transport and storage sector declined by 21.7%. Transport services and shipping support services dropped by 23.0% and 14.0% respectively. This is due to stagnant demand for transport services, particularly air transport, during the last 3-4 months of H1 2020. The number of transport operator licenses for trucks in circulation fell by 0.3% H-o-H to 385,775 licenses. This is the first time the total has declined after increasing for 5 consecutive halves.