Apple to Toyota Seen Gaining From Thai Transport Upgrade
This article is for subscribers only.
Thai floods severed global supply chains for companies such as Apple Inc. and Toyota Motor Corp. in 2011. The country is debating whether to spend $75 billion on its roads, rails and waterways to avoid another disruption.
The disaster exposed a weakness in Thailand’s approach to offering a low-cost manufacturing base as floodwaters swamped 839 factories, flooded roads and cut rail links. Floods have spread across almost half of the nation’s provinces again this year, lending a sense of urgency to a parliamentary debate this week on a proposal to build a high-speed rail network and modernize roads and ports.