Mexico to Shut Down Business to Fight Swine Flu

The Mexican government will shut down private business, including factories and transportation operations, for five days starting Friday as the country tries to halt the spread of the swine flu virus. 

The action also will shut down nonessential government activity May 1-5 as the country struggles to contain a virus that has killed 170 people in the country and spread to other continents.

Transportation companies said Thursday that they had seen no disruption in cross-border trade with the United States but the business shutdown could idle factories and other businesses in a country that has already suffered a sharp decline in tourism as fear of the virus has spread. 

Even a temporary stay on business activity in Mexico could have profound implications for multinational supply chains that link Mexico to the United States and Canada as well as Europe, Asia and the rest of Latin America.



The disease apparently has a global supply chain of its own, spreading as far as New Zealand and Switzerland. It’s believed to have been spread to those countries by international travelers.


Companies that ship and move goods across the U.S.-Mexico border, meanwhile, were already preparing for the worst. 

Con-way, a major transborder truck operator, said in a statement that it is putting in motion a plan the company wrote in 2007. “We already have a stockpile of protective masks. As a precaution, these have been issued to employees in two of our Mexico warehouse/distribution operations.”

The company instructs employees in proper hygiene to prevent the spread of viruses, how to recognize swine flu symptoms and what to do if they become sick.

“So far, the outbreak has caused no disruption to our trucking and logistics businesses in the U.S., nor in the other 20 countries in which we operate,” Con-way said. “We have not been advised — as yet — by any of our customers of an impact from the outbreak on their businesses as well.”