Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-29T13:09:08.703Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

7 - The Development of Automotive Industry Clusters and Production Networks in Thailand

from II - Case Studies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2015

Nipon Poapongsakorn
Affiliation:
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Kriengkrai Techakanont
Affiliation:
Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand
Get access

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The production and production capacity of automobiles in Thailand began to increase rapidly in the late 1980s after the appreciation of the yen. It then accelerated in the early 1990s due to the unprecedented economic boom and the government's liberalization policy. After a sharp decline during the 1997–98 economic crisis, production jumped sharply and surpassed the 1996 peak in 2002. Several car-makers have also expanded their production capacity as they had already made a strategic decision to use Thailand as one of their global production bases in the early 1990s. Although there are a number of studies discussing why Thailand became part of the global production network (GPN) of multinational car-makers, this paper will attempt to provide a systematic explanation, particularly a discussion of government policies that not only favoured Japanese carmakers, but may have also been indirectly influenced by the multinational companies concerned. Moreover, the paper will compare the structure of the production networks of two groups of major car-makers. This will allow the authors to draw some implications about the benefits of the GPN to Thai parts suppliers.

The second part of the paper addresses the role of clusters, particularly the creation of industrial districts (IDs). This paper will argue that until recently, the development of industrial districts in Thailand since the 1960s had always been concentrated around Klong Toey port in eastern Bangkok, which is only 120 kilometres from Laem Chabang port — a new but much larger seaport — in the eastern province of Chonburi. Such development has generated powerful agglomeration economy effects. Unfortunately, such huge agglomeration economies, which are one of the major forces that have prevented industrial development from spreading towards other regions of Thailand, have also generated severe congestion and pollution problems in Bangkok (Krongkaew 1995; Poapongsakorn and Fuller 1996). This has naturally forced manufacturers to locate their new plants along the eastern highways.

Type
Chapter
Information
Production Networks and Industrial Clusters
Integrating Economies in Southeast Asia
, pp. 196 - 256
Publisher: ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute
Print publication year: 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×