Abstract
Shipping and port industries are undergoing rapid environmental changes because of the reorganization of carrier alliances, enlargement of ships, and an increase in global uncertainty. Thus, the sustainable operation of container terminals requires a new assessment of port efficiency and measures to enhance efficient operation. Hence, we classified 21 global terminal operators (GTOs) into stevedore, carrier, and hybrid GTOs based on their operation characteristics and derived a sustainable container terminal operation method using data envelopment analysis efficiency and Malmquist productivity index analysis. The results showed that stevedore GTOs exhibited improved efficiency when the terminal infrastructure was expanded. However, the returns to scale and technical change factors in the productivity change trend decreased. Meanwhile, the objective of carrier GTOs is cost reduction, unlike stevedore and hybrid GTOs, which focus on generating profits. Consequently, carrier GTOs were the most inefficient with little intention to improve efficiency. A systematic efficiency improvement strategy through the acquisition of a terminal share was effective for hybrid GTOs. However, similar to stevedore GTOs, investment in technical change was insufficient for hybrid GTOs. The efficiency analysis we conducted for each operation characteristic is expected to provide useful basic data for establishing efficiency improvement strategies for every GTO.
Highlights
The results revealed that the stevedore global terminal operators (GTOs) had higher efficiency and productivity compared to other operator types, indicating that the domestic terminals should be integrated, and excessive competition should be reduced by actively introducing advanced operation methods in other countries
The results showed that the size of the container terminal, transshipment, cargo mix, handling type in the yard, policies, and operation procedure positively affected the efficiency of container terminals
The results showed that the quay crane equipment, reducing berth times, container cargo dwell time, vessels and truck turnaround time, both physical and soft infrastructure, customer clearance procedure, and lack of integrated IT system influenced the overall efficiency of the port
Summary
The size of ships has been enlarged to reduce operating costs such as oil, labor, maintenance, repair, and operation (MRO) costs, and the pursued economies of scale that increase unit efficiency through the simultaneous transportation of large quantities of freight. They developed supply chain management (SCM) systems to manage the entire process of delivering goods, from manufacturers to consumers [2]. To lower the risk on SCM, they conducted mergers and acquisitions or formed shipping alliances to increase activities, such as securing freight volumes through joint transportation between alliances, for improving transportation efficiency.
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