Opinion | Look high, look low, then say a prayer
You can take all the care but natural disasters are unpredictable. Just ask Japan's carmakers
While many companies are shifting to countries with cheaper rents or lower wages, they had better check with the weather bureau and their insurers.
Why? Ask the Japanese carmakers and they will tell you their sad stories.
The carmakers first received a blow in March last year when the earthquake and tsunami hit their manufacturing base in Japan.
They were forced to shift some of their operations overseas to "safer" areas away from the earthquake zone. As many of them had production plants in Thailand where earthquakes were not a concern, it sounded like a good idea to increase production there.
Well, as the Chinese saying goes: Luck comes alone, while unfortunate incidents come in pairs. Thailand had the worst floods in decades in October last year.
The poor Japanese carmarkers were forced to suspend operations for an indefinite period until the floodwaters cleared, seriously disrupting their supply chain.