LOGISTICS - Performance during flood

Thai Floods hobble Japanese logistics firms 

The severe flooding in Thailand has hampered the operations of Japanese shipping companies, inundating some of their warehouses and weakening demand for transporting goods, according to Nikkei Report.

Each of the logistics firms conducts daily updates of maps showing the areas that are flooded so they can deliver products and parts using trucks in areas accessible to vehicles. But making on-time deliveries is difficult due to congestion, they say.

Nippon Express experienced flooding at five warehouses at the Hi-Tech Industrial Estate and Rojana Industrial Park. Although it has managed to avoid damage to clients' cargo by putting it on racks and by moving it to other facilities, "we can't go near flooded warehouses, so we have been unable to check inside," said president Kenji Watanabe.

Even so, more than 80 percent of the floor space of the firm's Thai warehouses is dry, and there has been a sharp increase in calls from customers about moving production equipment.

Nippon Express decided to dispatch about 30 personnel from Japan and Singapore to help out in Thailand. With flood damage spreading in Bangkok, the company may also move the headquarters of its Thai unit from the capital to Laem Chabang.

Yusen Logistics suspended operations at its warehouse at the Nava Nakorn industrial zone, and it moved clients' goods such as electronic devices and autoparts to other locations. However, the movement of freight has been slow because factories that are supposed to receive the shipments have closed down.

Kintetsu World Express has shut its warehouse in the Rojana park after the facility was inundated. Although business has slowed, it is continuing to operate using unaffected facilities.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha's (“K’’ Line) containerships departing from Japan make two port calls in Thailand a week, but the firm is considering temporarily scaling back service to once a week.

Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) has discontinued stops at the port of Bangkok because loading and unloading works have been affected, and is using the port at Laem Chabang instead.

With automobile production down in Thailand, NYK’s automobile carriers made half the usual number of port calls in the country last month.

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), which transports 10,000 to 20,000 vehicles out of Thailand every month, has cancelled some stops in the country.

“K’’ Line said that it has not yet made plans for its automobile carriers to make port calls in Thailand this month on the view that transport demand will fall by some 17,000 vehicles a month.