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Determinants and strategies for the development of container terminals

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  • Francesca Medda
  • Qianwen Liu

Abstract

The paper examines an important player in the container industry: the container terminal. We evaluate how terminal efficiency operation is affected by the following factors: terminal type, operation type, scale efficiency and returns to scale. In so doing, we test how the typology and operation of terminals and the level of scale efficiency that a terminal can achieve, represent significant factors in the development and growth of the container terminal industry. The analysis is based on the assessment of 165 container terminals worldwide. We develop the estimation through the application of stochastic frontier analysis. We demonstrate that container terminals are more efficient than multi-purpose terminals, and that, compared with local operators, global terminal operators do not have a dominant position in international maritime trade in terms of productivity and efficiency. However, global terminal operators appear to be more dominant than local operators when we examine the Mediterranean Basin. In the final part of the paper we suggest how resource-constrained container terminals may improve their scale efficiency and identify general strategies related to container terminal investments. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Francesca Medda & Qianwen Liu, 2013. "Determinants and strategies for the development of container terminals," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 83-98, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jproda:v:40:y:2013:i:1:p:83-98
    DOI: 10.1007/s11123-012-0291-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Carlos Pestana Barros & Zhongfei Chen & Peter Wanke, 2016. "Efficiency in Chinese seaports: 2002–2012," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 18(3), pages 295-316, September.
    2. Efecan, Volkan & Temiz, İzzettin, 2023. "Assessing the technical efficiency of container ports based on a non-monotonic inefficiency effects model," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    3. Wang, Ping & Mileski, Joan & Zeng, Qingcheng, 2019. "Toward a taxonomy of container terminals’ practices and performance: A contingency and configuration study," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 92-107.
    4. Jorge H. Luna & Julio Mar-Ortiz & María D. Gracia & Dionicio Morales-Ramírez, 2018. "An efficiency analysis of cargo-handling operations at container terminals," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 20(2), pages 190-210, June.
    5. Güner, Samet, 2015. "Investigating infrastructure, superstructure, operating and financial efficiency in the management of Turkish seaports using data envelopment analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 36-48.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Stochastic analysis; Container terminal; Global operator; Scale and technical efficiency; L91; L99;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • L91 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Transportation: General
    • L99 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities - - - Other

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