New paradigms of quantification of economic efficiency in the transport sector

Research background: In determining the prices in road transport, carriers usually use the calculations based on a so-called routes utilisation coefficient, which allows the carrier to also take the possibility of the return rides without load into account. Currently, it is usually used as a constant from the interval from zero to one. Purpose of the article: Considering a different offer of return transport from individual European Union (EU) countries, it can be assumed that the routes utilisation coefficient should have different values because there is a varying level of non-zero probability that the vehicle will return without a load. This study therefore proposes a new approach to determining the value of this coefficient based on transport direction. The study also aims to identify clusters of EU countries, for which the common value of the coefficient should be set. Methods: The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) test was used to verify the assumption of the differences among the means of transport offers. Cluster analysis was used to identify the aforementioned groups of countries. This analysis is based on real data on transport offers to Slovakia from 18 different EU countries. Findings & value added: The results of the analysis can also be used in other EU countries because if significant differences in transport offers to Slovakia exist in individual countries, there is a reasonable assumption that this conclusion will also be valid in other countries. The analysis demonstrated that it is more appropriate to use the routes utilisation coefficient with various values, dependent on the transport direction. For the transport companies, implementation of the obtained results into practice is beneficial to increase their competitiveness through the more precise setting of transport prices, but also to the optimisation of the transport price itself with regard to the expected costs.