The economy-wide impact captures the spillover or other related multiplier effects from the transportation and supply chain benefits. Expansion of a transportation network, as a result of multimodal connectivity brings better linkages to supplies, inputs and final goods thereby improving the efficiency of global supply chain in production. Improved logistics and supply chains could open up access to previously unreachable areas as well as link key economic centers in a region to national markets. The economy-wide benefits could include the following:
Trade expansion and larger foreign direct investments: Transportation and logistics improvements are critical to trade flows and the competitiveness of an economy‘s exports and imports. Each day saved is equivalent to an average ad valorem tariff reduction of between approximately 0.4 and 1% for export and 0.8 and 1.5% for import. (Hummels et al, 2007: 9). In addition, an increase in competitiveness could attract additional FDI. For manufacturers, more efficient transport links mean factories can take advantage of cheaper land and labor in the country‘s interior. International companies are also discovering that there are clusters of complementary businesses emerging inland that they can tap into. A study by MIGA (2003) concluded that one of the strengths of Thailand in attracting FDI is the good transportation and logistics infrastructure for electronics manufacturers, which is crucial for just-in-time electronics assembly operations.