Wholesale and Retail vs Transportation and Logistics in Thailand 2026
In short
Wholesale and retail trade holds 715,976 companies against 85,273 in transportation and storage, 8.4 times as many, as of 17 July 2026. Transportation runs a 6.3 percent aggregate net margin. Wholesale and retail runs 1.3 percent. That gap makes transportation's margin nearly five times as fat. Transportation also returns 11.0 percent on equity against 3.2 percent for wholesale and retail. Scale in headcount of firms and strength in margin sit in two different sectors of the same supply chain.
Which sector wins on scale and which wins on margin?
Wholesale and retail trade is Thailand's largest business sector by company count at 715,976 firms (DBD, 2026). Transportation and storage, the sector that moves everything wholesale and retail sells, counts just 85,273 firms. That puts 8.4 wholesale and retail companies on the ground for every one transportation company. Flip to profitability and the ranking reverses. Wholesale and retail keeps a 1.3 percent aggregate net margin, one of the thinnest in the Thai economy. Transportation and storage keeps 6.3 percent, nearly five times as much of every baht of revenue. Return on equity tells the same story at greater distance, 11.0 percent for transportation against 3.2 percent for wholesale and retail. A sector can dominate the business registry and still surrender the profit rate to a supplier a tenth its size.
Profitability side by side, wholesale and retail versus transportation
- Wholesale and retail, net margin1
- Transportation, net margin6
- Wholesale and retail, return on assets2
- Transportation, return on assets5
- Wholesale and retail, return on equity3
- Transportation, return on equity11
Figures in percent.
Transportation and storage beats wholesale and retail on every profitability measure despite carrying 8.4 times fewer companies.
Wholesale and retail trade versus transportation and storage, by the numbers
| Metric | Wholesale and retail trade | Transportation and storage |
|---|---|---|
| Companies | 715,976 | 85,273 |
| Total revenue | 38.74 trillion baht | 2.15 trillion baht |
| Total net profit | 493.83 billion baht | 135.07 billion baht |
| Net margin | 1.3% | 6.3% |
| Return on assets | 2.1% | 4.6% |
| Return on equity | 3.2% | 11.0% |
| Revenue per company | 54.1 million baht | 25.3 million baht |
| Profit per company | 689,729 baht | 1,584,011 baht |
| Top firm by revenue | Hua Seng Heng Commoditas Company Limited | Thai Airways International Public Company Limited |
Aggregate figures for TSIC sections G and H, as of 17 Jul 2026.
Why the smaller sector keeps more of its money
Part of the gap is structural. Wholesale and retail is a resale business, buying goods and marking them up, so a large share of every baht of revenue simply passes through to the supplier before any of it becomes profit. Transportation sells a service rather than reselling a product, so more of each fare or freight charge survives as margin once fuel and labor are covered. Company size plays a role too. The average wholesale and retail firm reports 54.1 million baht of revenue, more than double the 25.3 million baht at the average transportation firm, yet the average transportation firm still banks 1,584,011 baht of profit against 689,729 baht for its retail counterpart, better than double on less than half the revenue. One caution on the revenue side, the single largest wholesale and retail filer, a gold bullion trader, alone accounts for about 14 percent of the sector's total revenue, so the sector total is not evenly spread across three quarters of a million firms.
Definitions
- Net margin
- Net profit as a share of revenue. A margin of 1.3 percent means 1.3 satang of profit for every baht of revenue.
- Aggregate margin
- Total sector net profit divided by total sector revenue, rather than the average of each company's own margin. A handful of very large firms can move an aggregate margin more than a simple average would.
- Return on assets
- Net profit as a share of total reported assets, a measure of how efficiently a sector turns what it owns into profit.
- Return on equity
- Net profit as a share of shareholder equity, a measure of the return a sector generates on the capital its owners have put in.
- TSIC section
- One of 21 lettered categories in Thailand's Standard Industrial Classification. Wholesale and retail trade is section G, transportation and storage is section H.
Assumptions
- Margin, return on assets and return on equity are calculated only from companies that filed a financial statement, not the full registered count in each section.
- Revenue and profit per company are calculated against the full registered company count, including companies that have not filed a statement, so they understate the average result among firms that actually report.
- One gold bullion trading company accounts for about 14 percent of wholesale and retail's total revenue, so the sector aggregate is weighted toward a small number of very large filers rather than spread evenly across the sector.
- Figures reflect one snapshot of the registry as of 17 July 2026 and will shift as companies file new statements.
Methodology
Figures are aggregate totals for TSIC section G, wholesale and retail trade, and section H, transportation and storage, drawn from the DBD registry of Thai companies with a filed financial statement, as of 17 July 2026. Net margin is aggregate net profit divided by aggregate revenue for all reporting companies in the section, not the average of individual company margins. Return on assets and return on equity are computed the same way, section totals divided by section totals. Revenue and profit per company divide the section total by the section's full registered company count, including companies that have not filed a statement, so they read as an economy-wide average rather than a per-filer figure.
How we verified this
- Company count ratio recomputed directly from raw counts, 715976 divided by 85273 equals 8.396, reported as 8.4.
- Net margin recomputed from raw totals for both sections, wholesale and retail 493829184151.82 divided by 38739274707312.97 equals 1.2748 percent, transportation 135073378660.71 divided by 2153938479253.77 equals 6.2710 percent, both matching the stored net_margin field.
- Margin multiple recomputed as 6.2710 divided by 1.2748 equals 4.919, reported as nearly five times.
- Revenue per company recomputed as section revenue divided by section entity count, wholesale and retail 38739274707312.97 divided by 715976 equals 54,106,946 baht, transportation 2153938479253.77 divided by 85273 equals 25,259,326 baht.
- Profit per company recomputed the same way, wholesale and retail 493829184151.82 divided by 715976 equals 689,729 baht, transportation 135073378660.71 divided by 85273 equals 1,584,011 baht.
- Top-firm share of section revenue recomputed for wholesale and retail, 5,556,701,724,240.86 divided by 38,739,274,707,312.97 equals 14.3 percent.
References
- Department of Business Development. (2026). Registered juristic persons and financial statement aggregates. Ministry of Commerce, Thailand. https://www.dbd.go.th/
- Krungsri Research. (2022). Industry outlook 2022-2024: Modern trade. Bank of Ayudhya PCL. https://www.krungsri.com/en/research/industry/industry-outlook/wholesale-retail/modern-trade/io/modern-trade-2022
Frequently asked questions
Which sector has more companies, wholesale and retail or transportation in Thailand?
Wholesale and retail trade, with 715,976 registered companies against 85,273 in transportation and storage, a ratio of 8.4 to 1 as of 17 July 2026.
Which sector is more profitable, wholesale and retail or transportation in Thailand?
Transportation and storage, with a 6.3 percent aggregate net margin against 1.3 percent for wholesale and retail, nearly five times as fat.
Why does transportation earn a higher margin than wholesale and retail?
Wholesale and retail resells goods bought from suppliers, so most of each baht of revenue passes straight through before any profit is left. Transportation sells a service, freight and passenger movement, so more of each fare survives as margin once fuel and labor are covered.
Is the average transportation company more profitable than the average wholesale and retail company?
Yes. The average transportation company nets 1,584,011 baht of profit against 689,729 baht for the average wholesale and retail company, more than double, even though the average wholesale and retail company reports over twice the revenue.
Cite this page
Chatpong L. (2026). Wholesale and Retail vs Transportation and Logistics in Thailand 2026. Max Data Insights. https://maxdatathailand.com/insights/wholesale-and-retail-vs-transportation-and-logistics-in-thailand-2026
Data & corrections
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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.