Thai flooding disrupts export volumes

Niels Hansen, APM Terminals told Port Strategy: “We can advise that the container terminals at Laem Chabang are not directly affected by the flooding which is more affecting the areas around Bangkok and in the central region of Thailand. Several thousand factories have been flooded or otherwise affected by the flooding and that has a negative effect both on export volumes and on domestic supplies of many basic commodities and items”.

Some shipping companies have reported a decline in export volumes of up to 30%, Mr Hansen continued. In addition, Bangkok Port has stopped accepting import containers and most import volumes are now routed via APM’s Laem Chabang Port.

The outlook is still looking challenging for Thai manufacturing and exports – one of the latest casualties being Honda. Production at Honda Automobile Thailand and Thai Honda Manufacturing has been suspended – some plants have suffered continual flooding since the beginning of the month.

Honda operations in other regions also are being impacted by the limited parts supply from Thailand.