Which Thai Industry Sections Still Trail an Old Revenue Peak in 2026
In short
Four of Thailand's 18 sizeable industry sections have not yet topped a revenue peak set two or more years ago, as of 14 August 2026. Real estate peaked in 2018 and remains 7.15 percent below that level seven years later. Manufacturing and electricity and gas both peaked in 2022 and sit 7.2 percent and 19.44 percent below their highs. Agriculture peaked in 2023 and trails by just 1.67 percent. Most other named sections, including wholesale and retail and construction, set fresh revenue records in 2024 or 2025.
Which industry sections haven't topped an old revenue peak?
Four of Thailand's 18 sizeable industry sections are still generating less revenue than they did in a year that has since passed, based on year by year filings to 2025 (DBD, 2026). Real estate holds the oldest scar. Its revenue peaked in 2018 at 1.17 trillion baht and by 2025 had only reached 1.09 trillion, a gap of 7.15 percent seven years on. Manufacturing and electricity and gas both topped out in 2022 and remain 7.2 percent and 19.44 percent short of that level. Agriculture peaked as recently as 2023 and trails by a slim 1.67 percent. Every other named section that filed enough data to judge, from wholesale and retail to construction to accommodation and food service, posted its highest ever revenue in either 2024 or 2025.
How far each stuck section sits below its old high
- Electricity and gas, peak 202219
- Manufacturing, peak 20227
- Real estate, peak 20187
- Agriculture, peak 20232
Figures in percent below the section's peak year.
Electricity and gas has fallen furthest from its 2022 high. Agriculture is the closest to a new record.
Every named section's revenue peak versus 2025
| Industry section | Peak year | Peak revenue, billion baht | 2025 revenue, billion baht | Gap from peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate | 2,018 | 1,172.1 | 1,088.3 | -7.15% |
| Manufacturing | 2,022 | 22,782.2 | 21,142.9 | -7.20% |
| Electricity and gas | 2,022 | 828.0 | 667.1 | -19.44% |
| Agriculture | 2,023 | 373.4 | 367.2 | -1.67% |
| Financial and insurance | 2,024 | 3,409.8 | 2,700.4 | -20.80%, filing lag, see note |
| Water and waste | 2,024 | 118.6 | 117.0 | -1.30% |
| Transportation and storage | 2,024 | 1,808.8 | 1,772.6 | -2.00% |
| Administrative and support | 2,024 | 1,019.2 | 955.3 | -6.27% |
| Other services | 2,024 | 68.1 | 66.9 | -1.72% |
| Mining and quarrying | 2,025 | 419.9 | 419.9 | 0.00% |
| Construction | 2,025 | 1,772.7 | 1,772.7 | 0.00% |
| Wholesale and retail trade | 2,025 | 33,500.1 | 33,500.1 | 0.00% |
| Accommodation and food service | 2,025 | 809.5 | 809.5 | 0.00% |
| Information and communication | 2,025 | 950.0 | 950.0 | 0.00% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 2,025 | 845.1 | 845.1 | 0.00%, corrected, see note |
| Education | 2,025 | 54.0 | 54.0 | 0.00% |
| Human health and social work | 2,025 | 475.3 | 475.3 | 0.00% |
| Arts and entertainment | 2,025 | 117.5 | 117.5 | 0.00% |
Peak statement year, peak revenue, 2025 revenue and the gap between them, as of 14 Aug 2026. A gap of 0.0% means 2025 was the section's all time high.
A false lead and a filing lag we corrected for
The raw data first suggested professional, scientific and technical services peaked in 2016, which would have made it the second oldest stalled section behind real estate. Tracing that number down to the 5 digit level found the cause. A single industry code, accounting bookkeeping auditing and tax consultancy, reported 394.1 billion baht in 2016 against roughly 21 to 26 billion baht in the years immediately before and after it, with no matching jump in filer count. That is a one year data error, not a business result, so we excluded that one code and rebuilt the section total. Once corrected, professional services actually reached a fresh high of 845.1 billion baht in 2025. Financial and insurance shows a similar warning sign worth naming rather than hiding. Its 2025 revenue fell 20.8 percent even though the sector's filer count rose from 16,017 to 16,332 companies over the same year. Two large insurance codes account for nearly all of the drop, which points to a handful of big insurers filing late rather than the sector shrinking, so we left financial and insurance out of the headline count of four.
Why a multi year revenue peak matters
A single bad year can hit any sector. A revenue peak that stands for two, three or seven years says something structural is holding a sector back. Real estate's stall lines up with an independent signal outside the registry. New condominium launches nationwide also peaked in 2018 and Bangkok's launches have now fallen for four straight years to 2025, the lowest in more than a decade, while unsold stock sits near 235,000 units (Nation Thailand, 2026). Manufacturing and electricity and gas both rode a 2022 commodity and energy price spike to their highs and have since given back part of that windfall as prices normalized. None of the four sections has collapsed. Each is a large, mature part of the economy quietly running below a level it once reached, which is a different and often less visible story than a sector in outright decline.
Definitions
- Revenue peak
- The single statement year, from 2007 to 2025, in which a section reported its highest total revenue in the DBD registry.
- Statement year
- The fiscal year printed on a filed financial statement. The registry records it on the Buddhist calendar, so statement year 2561 is 2018 and 2568 is 2025.
- Named section
- One of the 21 lettered TSIC industry sections DBD assigns to every registered company, such as L for real estate or C for manufacturing.
- Filing lag
- A gap between a company's fiscal year end and the date its financial statement appears in the aggregate data, which can understate the newest statement year until more companies catch up.
Assumptions
- Sections O public administration, T households and U extraterritorial organizations were excluded, each holding fewer than 40 companies nationwide.
- The most recent statement year, 2025, may still be under filed relative to a fully mature year, so a section's true 2025 revenue could turn out higher once more companies file.
- Financial and insurance is left out of the headline count of four because its 2025 drop traces to two large insurance codes rather than a broad based decline.
- One TSIC code inside professional, scientific and technical services was excluded from that section's total after its 2016 revenue proved to be a data artifact.
Methodology
Section revenue by year is built by summing market_tsic_year_insight, which reports total revenue per 5 digit TSIC code per statement year, up to the letter section using the section_code column on market_tsic_insight, drawn from the DBD registry. The registry records statement years on the Buddhist calendar, so year 2568 is 2025 and year 2561 is 2018. The 2569 statement year was excluded as incomplete, per standing guidance, since it holds only a few thousand filed companies. A section's peak year is the single statement year with its highest revenue across 2007 to 2025. Sections O public administration, T households and U extraterritorial organizations were dropped for holding fewer than 40 companies each, leaving 18 named sections. For professional, scientific and technical services, one 5 digit code showing an isolated 2016 spike was excluded and the section total was rebuilt without it. Figures reflect the market_tsic_year_insight and market_section_insight snapshots computed on 14 August 2026 and 17 July 2026 respectively.
How we verified this
- Recomputed real estate's gap: 1,088,288,069,553.26 minus 1,172,126,011,461.26, divided by 1,172,126,011,461.26, equals negative 7.15 percent.
- Recomputed manufacturing's gap: 21,142,881,920,767.66 minus 22,782,178,052,100.10, divided by 22,782,178,052,100.10, equals negative 7.20 percent.
- Recomputed electricity and gas's gap: 667,088,268,106.29 minus 828,041,653,973.82, divided by 828,041,653,973.82, equals negative 19.44 percent.
- Recomputed agriculture's gap: 367,202,601,779.80 minus 373,434,162,771.52, divided by 373,434,162,771.52, equals negative 1.67 percent.
- Isolated TSIC code 69200 and found its 2016 revenue of 394,099,874,462.96 baht was roughly 15 to 18 times its 2015 and 2017 neighbors of 21.3 billion and 26.4 billion baht, with filer count moving in line with neighboring years, confirming a data artifact rather than a genuine peak.
- Rebuilt professional, scientific and technical services excluding that one code and found its new peak year is 2025 at 845,064,821,680.83 baht, a fresh high rather than a 2016 peak.
- Checked financial and insurance's filer count across 2024 and 2025 at 16,017 and 16,332 companies, a rise, against a reported revenue fall of 20.8 percent, then traced the fall to TSIC codes 65110 and 65120 whose combined revenue dropped by more than 650 billion baht in one year, consistent with a late filing gap rather than a broad decline.
- Confirmed 4 divided by 18 equals 22.2 percent of the named sections analyzed.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Nation Thailand. (2026). Thailand's property market 2025: Navigating crisis whilst developers chart bold 2026 strategies. https://www.nationthailand.com/business/property/40060756
Frequently asked questions
Which Thai industry section has gone the longest without a new revenue peak?
Real estate. Its revenue peaked in 2018 and by 2025 was still 7.15 percent short of that level, seven years on.
How many named Thai industry sections are still below an old revenue peak?
Four of the 18 sizeable named sections: real estate, manufacturing, electricity and gas, and agriculture.
Did professional, scientific and technical services really peak in 2016?
No. The raw data showed a 2016 peak driven by a single industry code with an isolated one year spike. Once that code is excluded, the sector actually set a fresh high in 2025.
Why isn't financial and insurance counted among the stuck sections?
Its reported 2025 revenue fell 20.8 percent even as its filer count grew, and the drop traces almost entirely to two large insurance codes, which points to a filing lag rather than a genuine sector wide decline.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Which Thai Industry Sections Still Trail an Old Revenue Peak in 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/which-thai-industry-sections-havent-beaten-their-old-revenue-peak-2026
Data & corrections
Download the data (CSV)Spot something off, or want to ask about the data? Email insights@maxsolutions.co.th. We publish corrections.
Written by
Chatpong L.Founder, Max Data, Max Solutions Co., Ltd.
Chatpong L. leads Max Data, a company-intelligence platform built on Thailand's official business registry. He writes about the structure of the Thai economy using primary registry data. His work covers company formation, industry concentration, and regional business activity.
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This page reports company-level and aggregate statistics only. It names no individuals and makes no claims about any person. Figures are provided for information and may be revised as source data updates.
