Thai Disaster Severs Supply Chain

BANGKOK, THAILAND – – Intense flooding in Thailand is taking its toll on North American automobile and computer factories, much the same as May’s Japanese tsunami did.

What’s more, there doesn’t seem to be any relief in sight.

Since the waters started rising in July, Thai floods have claimed the lives of 427 people and wiped billions from ledgers in the car, computer and rice businesses.

Many first-tier suppliers to major car manufacturers have had their facilities destroyed.

Honda said Monday that it will cancel overtime this month at six plants in North America and will halt production completely for one day, Nov. 11. Overall production between now and Nov. 10 will be about 50 percent less than anticipated.

Also, the launch of the new CR-V will be delayed by several weeks, reports say.

Last week, Toyota said it was suspending overtime at its plants in Kentucky, Indiana, Texas and Cambridge as well as Woodstock, ON.

Thailand is also the world’s biggest rice exporter and the floods have ruined almost 14 percent of the working paddies.

As recently as this week, flood waters were building up outside the capital city Bangkok, while in some outlying farmland the water was still chest deep.

According to one newspaper, Bangkok has changed from “Motown” (a reference to its automotive significance) to “Waterworld” overnight.