Kasikorn Research Center revealed that factory closures in the first quarter of 2026 surged past new openings, with 163 factories shutting down and only 148 opening, a deterioration from the same period last year when 385 new factories opened and 140 closed. Ms. Kevalin Wangpichayasuk, Deputy Managing Director, stated that the closure figures only cover up to March 2026, and the situation in the second quarter will remain unfavorable due to the onset of conflict in the Middle East continuing into April and May, with more factory closure announcements already seen, such as a steel plant in Chonburi province and an electrical appliance factory. Business confidence in the second quarter hit a multi-year low due to rising costs, with the food and beverage, rubber, and plastics sectors seeing more closures than openings, reflecting chronic competitiveness issues and impacts from war, drought, and US tariffs. Meanwhile, in 2025, layoffs under the social security system exceeded 531,779 people, a 20% increase, and in December 2025, signs emerged of factory closures outpacing openings for the first time in over two years. For the full year 2025, new factory openings fell 42% to 1,220, while closures totaled 786. The Department of Business Development reported that in the first half of 2026, new business registrations reached 44,773, up 2.13%, but registered capital dropped 25.44% to 111.2 billion baht, with the steel sector alone seeing 32 legal entities dissolve, representing capital of 158.5 million baht.