ses account for 20 percent of Thailand's industrial sector output (LaPoer, 1989). Foreign participation in the Thai economy is extensive; however, most such activity is conducted through joint venture operations, in which a majority Thai ownership exists (LaPoer, 1989).
The logistics of production in Thailand is heavily dependent upon the country's transportation system. Thailand has 4,000 kilometers of mainline railroad tracking. The tracking runs from Bangkok to Malaysia in the south, Cambodia in the east, Laos in the northeast, and China in the north (LaPoer, 1989). Railroads are particularly important with respect to the transport of industrial goods in Thailand (LaPoer, 1989).
Thailand's primary highway network includes more than 18 thousand kilometers of paved roads (LaPoer, 1989). An additional two thousand kilometers of the primary highway system consists of unpaved roads, which, along with the country's 24 thousand kilometer provincial road system, is often impassable during the rainy season. The country's
primary highway system is used in the transport of industrial output.
The country's extensive network of waterways is used primarily for passenger transportation, and for the transport of agricultural output (LaPoer, 1989). Maritime shipping, however, is significant in the country's industrial logistics. A total of 98 percent of Thailand's imports enter the country via maritime shipping, while 65 percent of its exports leave the country through its maritime ports (LaPoer, 1989).
Domestic air transport service is available to 20 locations within the country (Paxton, 1990). The domestic air service also extends to destinations in the neighboring countries of Cambodia, Laos, and Viet Nam. Thai Airways International and more than 40 foreign carriers connect Bangkok with China, other major Asian destinations, Australia, Europe, North America, and South America (LaPoer, 1989). While air transportatio...