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The Cabinet on Tuesday approved an 8-month waive on import tariffs on machinery and completely-built units (CBU) as well as components, Industry Ministry Wannarat Charnnukul said. The temporary measure will stand from October 25 this year until June 30, 2012 and cover only imports to substitute lost production in the Kingdom, Wannarat added. Details on this would be determined by the Industrial Economics Department. Though several assemblers are affected, only Honda Automobile (Thailand) Co Ltd is eligible for zero tariffs for the imports of vehicles, as floods completely shut down its plant operations in Rojana Industrial Park in Ayutthaya. The plant, with 240,000 annualised capacity, has been suspended since early October.

DOC IAIN reporting for PATTAYA MAIL: The Automotive Focus Group (AFG) held a very successful and popular mini-seminar entitled, “What’s up (and down) in the world today (and implications for Thailand)” given by the always erudite Chris Bruton from Dataconsult.

The Federation of Thai Industries expects the economic damage to be as high as Bt1.124 trillion, against government units' estimates of between Bt200-Bt300 billion. At Bt1.124 trillion, that accounts for 10.50 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Tanit Sorat, vice chairman of FTI, said that as the automotive industry was hard hit, output could be cut by 300,000 units. Due to severe damage to the automotive and electronics industries, Thailand’s export figure in October grew only 0.3 per cent, the lowest in two years. The FTI is of the view that the fourth-quarter export would contract 10 per cent due to the floods.

Well worth reading from the guys at MOTLEY FOOL…. Blame flooding. In Thailand. In a great example of the regional interconnections that drive global commerce nowadays, widespread floods in Thailand have disrupted production of key parts for several major automakers, throwing factories around the world off their paces. Honda and Toyota have taken particularly hard hits, but other major automakers have suffered significant losses as well -- and not all of them are based in Asia.

BANGKOK, Nov 23 – Thailand’s auto production in the fourth quarter of this year is projected to shrink by 44-55 per cent year-on-year due to the recent flood crisis, Kasikorn Research Center (KRC) said on Wednesday. The think tank forecasts that the country’s total auto production in the last quarter of 2011 will dip to 200,000-250,000 units, a 44-55 per cent decline. Due to the significant drop, this year’s overall production was projected to fall 7-10 per cent to 1,485,000-1,535,000 units, dropping from 1,645,304 units last year.

Here's a link to download Chris Bruton's presentation from the last AFG Meeting.

Via Paul Tans Blog: Auto production that was crippled by massive flooding in Thailand is beginning to get back on its feet. Some companies whose factories were spared by the water rush, but whose suppliers were affected, are restarting production soon, the  Bangkok Post  reports. They include Japanese giant Toyota, Mazda and Mitsubishi. “We will try to start production as soon as possible, possibly on the 21st of this month, and then slowly increase our production capacity,” said Toyota president Akio Toyoda, who also plans to increase investment in the Land of Smiles. “Toyota expects to increase our investment here over time to develop the automotive industry,” he added. Like General Motors’ Rayong plant, Toyota’s three Thai plants in Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao weren’t under water, but many suppliers and vendors were affected. Toyota, the biggest carmaker in Thailand, has delayed restarting operations three times already, but green light from suppliers this time around mak...

BANGKOK, Nov 10 - Japanese automaker Toyota Motor says it will resume production in Thailand Nov 21, one month after severe flooding forced it to suspend operations, Japan’s NHK reported Thursday. Toyota’s three plants in Thailand’s Samut Prakan and Chachoengsao provinces, unaffected directly by the flooding, halted production Oct 10 due to supply chain disruptions after flooding hit industrial estates in Thailand’s central provinces.

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A total of 215 plants in Thailand affiliated with 139 Japanese listed firms have been damaged by flooding there, a survey by a private research agency showed Wednesday. Of the 139 companies, 81 were in the electronics business and 71 in the automotive business as many of them operate in more than one business sector, Tokyo Shoko Research said, indicating the engines of Japan's manufacturing industry have been heavily affected.

Thailand’s worst floods in half a century creates serious problems to the automotive industry. A large number of Honda dealers across Thailand are becoming increasingly concerned for the future of their businesses, as most of them face disruptions. Within Thailand, two Honda plants in the Rojana Industrial Park have been fully submerged since Oct. 6, Jessada Thongpak, an analyst with IHS Global Automotive, said in a report today. “It may take until late 2012 to rebuild both plants,” Thongpak said.

“They’ve certainly been really unlucky this year.” Plans by Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. to run factories overtime to recoup production lost to parts shortages caused by Japan’s earthquake may be delayed until early 2012 because of flooding in Thailand. Toyota, Asia’s biggest carmaker, is scaling back output in Japan for a third week and suspended overtime in North America for a second week as disruptions from the floods spread. Honda is temporarily eliminating overtime and running North American plants at half capacity until next week as Japan’s third-largest automaker assesses its inventory.