Asian factories report little damage from earthquake
By Thomas Russell -- Furniture Today, January 17, 2005
High Point — One of the worst natural disasters in modern history appeared last week to have had little effect on furniture sourcing operations in Southeast Asia.
Tens of thousands of people perished after the underwater earthquake near the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which caused a series of tsunamis that pummeled coastlines. Most of the deaths occurred in Sri Lanka, Indonesia and India, with some also reported in Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh and the Maldives.
Importers sourcing from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia voiced concern last week over the human loss, and were contacting their sourcing operations to determine the effect on employees and plant operations.
Bob Roy, president of casual dining specialist Jofran Sales, said his company has sourcing and warehouse operations in Malaysia and Thailand.
"I sent e-mails to each of the factories we deal with there, and there is no factory damage," he said. "The only damage they told me that Malaysia suffered was a little bit of coastal damage up near Penang, which is far north of where the factories are."
His operations in Thailand are in and around Bangkok, which is north of where the damage occurred.
Other importers contacted by Furniture/Today also sent e-mails to their business partners. But in many cases, the replies gave no mention of tsunamis, which they assumed meant the operations and employees were unharmed.
"I haven't heard anything back from them so I anticipate that everything is OK," said Renee Fanjon, CEO of case goods importer Padma's Plantation. Her company imports most of its furniture and accessories from Indonesia. A smaller amount comes from Malaysia.
Lee Corson, president of case goods importer Corson Furniture International, said about 18% of his sales come out of Malaysia, where scores of people in coastal areas were reported killed.
"I sent an e-mail ... to Kuala Lumpur, where I do a lot of business," Corson said. "They are inland, but they have some factories in coastal areas. It's a horrible situation. It's unbelievable the magnitude of the disaster.... It definitely will affect the furniture industry and other industries also."
Less clear was the anticipated effect on shipping from some of those areas. Initial news reports said the port of Chennai, India, had suspended operations for at least two days for damage assessment. The Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka was closed temporarily after seawater entered a port building.
Tom Tran, import manager for case goods importer A-America, said he does not expect any immediate shipping delays from Malaysia, where the company does some sourcing. Still, he plans to stay in touch with the company's business partners to continue to assess the damage.
"To my knowledge, they are not in an earthquake zone," he said of the plants. "But we will be talking with them. We won't be able to find anything out for a few days."
