Technical Efficiency Of Ports Research Articles

The Effect of Regulations on Port Efficiency: An Empirical Study using Regulatory Quality and Control of Corruption Index

A key determinant influencing port performance is the governance aspect. Since the port plays a crucial role in logistics supply chain systems, its performance determinants should be evaluated. Data from 57 ports worldwide was analyzed to investigate how regulations affected their efficiency. First, we utilized the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to obtain the measurement of the port's technical efficiency. Then, the econometric estimation is used to examine the role of regulation on port’s technical efficiency. The findings from the econometric estimation suggests that Regulatory Quality (REGQ) and Control of Corruption (CORR) were positively correlated with the port’s technical efficiency One important contribution of the study is the implementation of DEA-L in the DEA measurement as to include the external variables in the analysis. This study suggests the government should improve the process by enhancing the application of high-technology items and digitization that are able to ease the bottleneck at port.

The Importance of Logistics Variables on Port Performance Analysis: A DEA Approach to Analyzing 57 Ports in the World Port Ranking

Port performance is an important gateway to countries and business entities. This study aims to explore the importance of logistics variables towards port performance measurement. A standard method used to measure port performance is the analysis of its inputs and outputs based on port characteristics, such as length of berth, number of cranes, and depth. Indubitably, these approaches are among the most practical used by scholars to measure port performance. However, other external factors, such as logistical variables, need special attention, as they have been discussed in previous studies as having the capability to influence the measurement of a port's performance. As such, this study measures the technical efficiency of 57 ports, ranked among the most efficient ports globally, via a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and uses sensitivity analysis to measure the impact logistics variables have on the measurement of performance. For robustness checking, the Robust Fixed Effects tool was applied to measure the impact of the logistics variables on port technical efficiency. The results show that logistics variables significantly impact the technical efficiency measurements of ports.

The relationship between port-level maritime connectivity and efficiency

This paper examines the empirical relationship between maritime connectivity and port efficiency. To do so, a stochastic output distance function is employed which permits the effect of connectivity on port technical efficiency to be estimated for a sample of Spanish ports. Previous studies analysing the relationship between efficiency and connectivity have used country-level connectivity indices. In the present study, port-level connectivity indices are used for the first time for this type of analysis. A novel panel dataset of 16 Spanish ports observed over the period 2006–2016 is constructed by crossing port-level connectivity information from UNCTAD's Port Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (PLSCI) with port-level production data from Spanish port authorities. The results from our estimation show a positive relationship between connectivity and port efficiency. It is found that relatively modest improvements in observed connectivity are associated with large differences in expected output.

The effect of weather conditions on port technical efficiency

Maritime transport is a sector particularly affected by climatic conditions. Once a ship is in the port, ship manoeuvres and port operations can be hindered by the weather conditions related to wind, wave height, rain, fog, etc. Additionally, shipping can also be hindered by weather conditions which leading to demand variability. Therefore, the worse the weather, the greater also the necessity for some overcapacity, which will be used only during demand peaks, remaining unused during low-demand periods. Due to both their direct effect on productivity and their indirect effect through demand variability, weather variables can be important conditioning variables for port productivity. However, to the authors' knowledge, there has been no analysis published which deals with this effect. In this study, we analyse the effect of two weather variables, wind speed and wave height, on port productivity. In particular, a stochastic output distance function approach was used to assess the impact of wind and waves on the technical efficiency of Spanish ports. As in our sample wind and waves are positively correlated with the tidal amplitude, we also included this variable as a control variable. The impact of both weather variables and tidal amplitude were evaluated by means of some simulation analysis. The results confirm the significant influence of weather conditions on port technical efficiency. Moreover, during the sample period (1992–2016) it was found that weather conditions were responsible for a variation of 5.3% in the average technical efficiency of the whole sample.

Does cargo specialization improve port technical efficiency? The paradigm of specialized infrastructure

ABSTRACTThis study analyses the effect of cargo specialisation on Spanish Port Authorities’ technical efficiency. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to contend that the effect of cargo specialisation on port efficiency may vary at different levels of specialisation. Specialisation/diversification strategies are examined under different scenarios. A stochastic input-oriented distance function model that accounts for Port Authorities’ heterogeneity is constructed. The results show that increasing specialisation in general cargo improves technical efficiency; however, specialisation in liquid or solid bulk cargo is not recommended—such cargo should ideally be handled jointly with other types of cargo. Finally, full specialisation is also not recommended in terms of technical efficiency gains.

Economic Evaluation Model of Seaports’ Performance Outlining Competitive Advantages and Disadvantages

Ports are a significant part of the global and regional cargo supply chain and transport network. Since the performance of ports has a significant impact on the economic growth of their countries, it is necessary to constantly analyse and plan port performance, to anticipate market trends and to improve the ability of a port to withstand the increasing overall competitive pressure. In port performance, not only physical ability to handle the flow of cargo, but also the potential competition for cargo is important. The methods presented in the scientific literature provide with an opportunity to evaluate only the technical efficiency of ports, completely excluding the aspect of financial performance of ports or the prospects for developing competitive advantages. Whereas, financial analyses are not suitable to study port performance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop the evaluation model of seaports’ performance that would enable assessing the financial situation of the organisation and determining its position in the market in relation to its competitors. The article analyses the factors of business competitiveness and the methods for their evaluation as well as the theoretical aspects of applying financial analysis. After different methodologies and evaluation models proposed by different authors are analysed, the economic evaluation model of port performance developed by the authors of the present article is presented. By applying this model, the evaluation of the performance of the Baltic seaports is carried out. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5755/j01.ee.29.5.21363

Exploring the drivers of port efficiency in Latin America and the Caribbean

We developed a technical efficiency analysis of container ports in Latin America and the Caribbean using an input-oriented stochastic frontier model. We employed a 10-year panel with data on container throughput, port terminal area, berth length, and number of available cranes in 63 ports. The model has three innovations with respect to the available literature: (i) we treated ship-to-shore gantry cranes and mobile cranes separately, in order to account for the higher productivity of the former; (ii) we introduced a binary variable for ports using ships’ cranes, treated as an additional source of port productivity; and (iii) we introduced a binary variable for ports operating as transshipment hubs. Their associated parameters are highly significant in the production function. The results show an improvement in the average technical efficiency of ports in the Latin American and Caribbean region from 52% to 64% between 1999 and 2009; the best performing port in 2009 achieved a technical efficiency of 88% with respect to the frontier. The paper also studies possible determinants of port technical efficiency, such as ownership, corruption and income per capita. The results revealed a positive and significant association between technical efficiency and private port operations.