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    October 26, 2011

Thai Floods Disrupt Factories at Home and Abroad

   VOA News
   A Thai woman sits on an inflated tire as people leave flooded areas in
   Bangkok, Thailand, October 26, 2011.
   Photo: AP
   A Thai woman sits on an inflated tire as people leave flooded areas in
   Bangkok, Thailand, October 26, 2011.

   A global rating agency says Thailand's severe floods are disrupting
   manufacturing in that nation, and hurting production of parts used by
   factories in other countries.
   Thailand is a major production site for Japanese electronic and auto
   companies, turning out both finished products and parts needed for
   assembly elsewhere.
   Two reports from Standard & Poor's Ratings Services Wednesday say their
   experts think the disruption will not last long enough to hurt the
   creditworthiness of major Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Sony.
   A Reuters news report said the [1]Thai floods have closed Toyota,
   Nissan, and Honda factories for weeks. The story said a lack of parts
   is prompting Toyota to reduce some production in Japan, Indonesia,
   Vietnam, and the Philippines. Another report by French news agency AFP
   said a lack of parts forced Honda to close a plant in Malaysia.
   Flooding disruptions are also prompting Sony to delay introduction of a
   key new product.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

References

   1. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/event.php?id=51747

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