Cargo services at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, Thailand have completely ceased, causing havoc for importers, exporters and regional customers, the New York Times said yesterday.
“The protesters have basically closed down the country,” said Ruth Banomyong, an associate professor at Thammasat Business School who is one of the region’s leading experts in logistics.
“Thailand was never considered as a very risky country,” he said. “I don’t think companies would have prepared for this.”
Thailand is well integrated into a regional network of just-in-time electronics manufacturing, where businesses keep down costs by maintaining a bare minimum of inventories. If the airports remain closed, assembly lines in Japan and China may run out of the semiconductors, disk drives and other components manufactured in Thailand.
Ruth estimates that electronics manufacturers keep around three to five days of inventory.
“This idea of Bangkok and Suvarnabhumi being a cargo hub — they can drop it down the drain now,” he said.
Thailand last year exported about US$40 billion in electronics and computer components. Leading electronics manufacturers including Fujitsu, Seagate, Philips, and LG have factories in the country.
The airport closures may also prove dangerous for those in need of urgent medical care.
Neighboring countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos rely on Thailand for health care because Bangkok has some of the best hospitals in the region.
Last year Suvarnabhumi airport handled import and exports averaging a total of 2,900 tons a day.
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