A survey conducted by Japanese news agency NNA showed that two-thirds of the country’s firms that operate businesses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India have been hobbled by disruptions in supply chains and trade due to the spreading deadly virus.
More than 65% of the 347 Japanese manufacturers surveyed over the weekend said procurement and logistics have been extremely impacted by the global health crisis.
“Of those affected, more than 80% pointed out problems related to sourcing parts and materials,” NNA said adding that “95.8% in the Philippines, 87.9% in Indonesia and 87.0 % in Malaysia (are) reporting that they are suffering as they rely relatively more on imports than local procurement.”
Meanwhile, 74.5% of the manufacturers in Thailand said they are having a hard time in securing the necessary parts and materials despite having a good local procurement rate.
The report said the procurement of around 140 Japanese manufacturers in India and Southeast Asia from the coronavirus-stricken China have been hardly hit. Among the countries that are severely grappling due to the disturbed sourcing are Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia.
Last month, several Japanese companies surveyed by Reuters complained about the factory closures and declining trade with the world’s second largest economy that serves as their top trade partner.
It was found that 47% of Japanese firms have seen a drastic fall in their outputs and revenues for the month of February. Of these, 42% reported that they suffered a plunge beyond 30%.
The Southeast Asia and India have more than 10,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 as of April 2. And as the spreading coronavirus continue to disrupt supply chains, Japanese manufacturers anticipate for the impact to last several months or even longer.
According to reports, the coronavirus pandemic could push Japan’s economy into recession this quarter following its fastest shrink recorded in the December quarter.
