IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/taf/marpmg/v42y2015i6p591-607.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency assessment of container operations of shipping agents in Spanish ports

Author

Listed:
  • E. Gutiérrez
  • S. Lozano
  • B. Adenso-Díaz
  • P. González-Torre

Abstract

In this paper a two-stage Data Envelopment Approach is used to assess the relative efficiency of container shipping agents operating at Spanish ports, and studying the factors influencing it. In the first stage, an input-oriented, Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) model is used to compute efficiency scores of the different shipping agents. The model considers labor as input, and numbers of loaded and unloaded containers handled as outputs. Scale efficiency, returns to scale and average efficiency of shipping agents at each port are reported. In the second stage, different regression approaches are applied to relate the efficiency scores obtained to a number of exogenous variables. The results identify as significant some of these variables such as the number of container lines with which it operates. Belonging to each of four clusters identified from the dataset seems also to have a significant influence on the efficiency of the studied agents.

Suggested Citation

  • E. Gutiérrez & S. Lozano & B. Adenso-Díaz & P. González-Torre, 2015. "Efficiency assessment of container operations of shipping agents in Spanish ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 591-607, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:marpmg:v:42:y:2015:i:6:p:591-607
    DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2014.990408
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/03088839.2014.990408
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1080/03088839.2014.990408?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lansink, Alfons Oude & Reinhard, Stijn, 2004. "Investigating technical efficiency and potential technological change in Dutch pig farming," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 353-367, March.
    2. Shiuh-Nan Hwang & Tong-Liang Kao, 2008. "Using two-stage DEA to measure managerial efficiency change of non-life insurance companies in Taiwan," International Journal of Management and Decision Making, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(4), pages 377-401.
    3. Wang, Shuaian & Meng, Qiang, 2012. "Liner ship fleet deployment with container transshipment operations," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 470-484.
    4. Cullinane, Kevin & Song, Dong-Wook, 2006. "Estimating the Relative Efficiency of European Container Ports: A Stochastic Frontier Analysis," Research in Transportation Economics, Elsevier, vol. 16(1), pages 85-115, January.
    5. Carlos Pestana Barros & Nicolas Peypoch, 2007. "Comparing Productivity Change in Italian and Portuguese Seaports using the Luenberger Indicator Approach," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 9(2), pages 138-147, June.
    6. Carlos Pestana Barros & J. Augusto Felício & Renato Leite Fernandes, 2012. "Productivity analysis of Brazilian seaports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(5), pages 503-523, September.
    7. Gadhia, Hitesh K. & Kotzab, Herbert & Prockl, Günter, 2011. "Levels of internationalization in the container shipping industry: an assessment of the port networks of the large container shipping companies," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 19(6), pages 1431-1442.
    8. Jean-Pascal Guironnet & N. Peyroch & B. Solonandrasana, 2009. "A Note on Productivity Change in French and Italian Seaports," Post-Print hal-00430368, HAL.
    9. Afonso, Antonio & St. Aubyn, Miguel, 2006. "Cross-country efficiency of secondary education provision: A semi-parametric analysis with non-discretionary inputs," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 476-491, May.
    10. Banker, Rajiv D., 1984. "Estimating most productive scale size using data envelopment analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 17(1), pages 35-44, July.
    11. Khalid Bichou & Michael G H Bell, 2007. "Internationalisation and Consolidation of the Container Port Industry: Assessment of Channel Structure and Relationships," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 9(1), pages 35-51, March.
    12. Hung, Shiu-Wan & Lu, Wen-Min & Wang, Tung-Pao, 2010. "Benchmarking the operating efficiency of Asia container ports," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 203(3), pages 706-713, June.
    13. Simar, Leopold & Wilson, Paul W., 2007. "Estimation and inference in two-stage, semi-parametric models of production processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 31-64, January.
    14. Pallis, Athanasios A. & Syriopoulos, Theodore, 2007. "Port governance models: Financial evaluation of Greek port restructuring," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 232-246, May.
    15. Shunsuke Managi, 2007. "Maritime Shipping Industry and Productivity in Japan," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 9(4), pages 291-301, December.
    16. Wu, Yen-Chun Jim & Goh, Mark, 2010. "Container port efficiency in emerging and more advanced markets," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1030-1042, November.
    17. Ali Ataullah & Hang Le, 2006. "Economic reforms and bank efficiency in developing countries: the case of the Indian banking industry," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 16(9), pages 653-663.
    18. Estache, Antonio & de la Fe, Beatriz Tovar & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2004. "Sources of efficiency gains in port reform: a DEA decomposition of a Malmquist TFP index for Mexico," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 221-230, December.
    19. Carlos Pestana Barros, 2006. "A Benchmark Analysis of Italian Seaports Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 8(4), pages 347-365, December.
    20. Tongzon, Jose, 2001. "Efficiency measurement of selected Australian and other international ports using data envelopment analysis," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 107-122, February.
    21. Naima Saeed, 2009. "An analysis of carriers’ selection criteria when choosing container terminals in Pakistan," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 11(3), pages 270-288, September.
    22. Rajiv D. Banker & Ram Natarajan, 2008. "Evaluating Contextual Variables Affecting Productivity Using Data Envelopment Analysis," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 56(1), pages 48-58, February.
    23. McDonald, John, 2009. "Using least squares and tobit in second stage DEA efficiency analyses," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 197(2), pages 792-798, September.
    24. Papke, Leslie E & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M, 1996. "Econometric Methods for Fractional Response Variables with an Application to 401(K) Plan Participation Rates," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 11(6), pages 619-632, Nov.-Dec..
    25. L. C. Lin & C. C. Tseng, 2007. "Operational performance evaluation of major container ports in the Asia-Pacific region," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6), pages 535-551, December.
    26. R. D. Banker & A. Charnes & W. W. Cooper, 1984. "Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 30(9), pages 1078-1092, September.
    27. S. J. Pettit & A. K. C. Beresford, 2009. "Port development: from gateways to logistics hubs," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(3), pages 253-267, June.
    28. Hoff, Ayoe, 2007. "Second stage DEA: Comparison of approaches for modelling the DEA score," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 181(1), pages 425-435, August.
    29. Theo Notteboom & Chris Coeck & Julien Van Den Broeck, 2000. "Measuring and Explaining the Relative Efficiency of Container Terminals by Means of Bayesian Stochastic Frontier Models," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 2(2), pages 83-106, June.
    30. Carlos Pestana Barros & Manolis Athanassiou, 2004. "Efficiency in European Seaports with DEA: Evidence from Greece and Portugal," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 6(2), pages 122-140, June.
    31. Leonardo Ramos Rios & Antonio Carlos Gastaud Maçada, 2006. "Analysing the Relative Efficiency of Container Terminals of Mercosur using DEA," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 8(4), pages 331-346, December.
    32. Nam Anh Tran & Gerald Shively & Paul Preckel, 2010. "A new method for detecting outliers in Data Envelopment Analysis," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(4), pages 313-316.
    33. Teng-Fei Wang & Kevin Cullinane, 2006. "The Efficiency of European Container Terminals and Implications for Supply Chain Management," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 8(1), pages 82-99, March.
    34. Athanasios A. Pallis & Thomas K. Vitsounis & Peter W. De Langen, 2009. "Port Economics, Policy and Management: Review of an Emerging Research Field," Transport Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(1), pages 115-161, February.
    35. Meng, Qiang & Wang, Shuaian, 2012. "Liner ship fleet deployment with week-dependent container shipment demand," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 222(2), pages 241-252.
    36. Teng-Fei Wang & Kevin Cullinane & Dong-Wook Song, 2005. "Container Port Production and Economic Efficiency," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-50597-1, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chin-Shan Lu & Po-Lin Lai & Yi-Pin Chiang, 2016. "Container terminal employees’ perceptions of the effects of sustainable supply chain management on sustainability performance," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 597-613, July.
    2. Kenneth Løvold Rødseth & Rasmus Bøgh Holmen & Timo Kuosmanen & Halvor Schøyen, 2023. "Market access and seaport efficiency: the case of container handling in Norway," Journal of Shipping and Trade, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-25, December.
    3. 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.
    4. Qiang Cui, 2017. "Environmental efficiency measures for ports: an application of RAM-Tobit-RAM with undesirable outputs," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(5), pages 551-564, July.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Suárez-Alemán, Ancor & Morales Sarriera, Javier & Serebrisky, Tomás & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2016. "When it comes to container port efficiency, are all developing regions equal?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-77.
    2. Suárez-Alemán, Ancor & Morales Sarriera, Javier & Serebrisky, Tomás & Trujillo, Lourdes, 2016. "When it comes to container port efficiency, are all developing regions equal?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 56-77.
    3. Merkel, Axel & Holmgren, Johan, 2017. "Dredging the depths of knowledge: Efficiency analysis in the maritime port sector," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 63-74.
    4. Mahmoudi, Reza & Emrouznejad, Ali & Shetab-Boushehri, Seyyed-Nader & Hejazi, Seyed Reza, 2020. "The origins, development and future directions of data envelopment analysis approach in transportation systems," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    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.
    6. Shui-Mu Ju & Nan Liu, 2015. "Efficiency and its influencing factors in port enterprises: empirical evidence from Chinese port-listed companies," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(6), pages 571-590, August.
    7. Odeck, James & Schøyen, Halvor, 2020. "Productivity and convergence in Norwegian container seaports: An SFA-based Malmquist productivity index approach," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 222-239.
    8. Evelin Krmac & Mozhgan Mansouri Kaleibar, 2023. "A comprehensive review of data envelopment analysis (DEA) methodology in port efficiency evaluation," Maritime Economics & Logistics, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association of Maritime Economists (IAME), vol. 25(4), pages 817-881, December.
    9. Zhang, Jing & Yang, Dong & Luo, Meifeng, 2024. "Port efficiency types and perspectives: A literature review," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 13-24.
    10. Angela Stefania Bergantino & Enrico Musso, 2011. "A Multi-step Approach to Model the Relative Efficiency of European Ports: The Role of Regulation and Other Non-discretionary Factors," Chapters, in: Kevin Cullinane (ed.), International Handbook of Maritime Economics, chapter 18, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    11. Carlos Barros & Hercules Haralambides & Mohamed Hussain & Nicolas Perpoch, 2011. "Seaport Efficiency and Productivity Growth," Chapters, in: Kevin Cullinane (ed.), International Handbook of Maritime Economics, chapter 17, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Sun, Jiasen & Yuan, Yang & Yang, Rui & Ji, Xiang & Wu, Jie, 2017. "Performance evaluation of Chinese port enterprises under significant environmental concerns: An extended DEA-based analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 75-86.
    13. Odeck, James & Bråthen, Svein, 2012. "A meta-analysis of DEA and SFA studies of the technical efficiency of seaports: A comparison of fixed and random-effects regression models," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 46(10), pages 1574-1585.
    14. Gonzalez, M. & Trujillo, L., 2007. "Efficiency measurement in the port industry: a survey of the empirical evidence," Working Papers 07/08, Department of Economics, City University London.
    15. Matías Herrera Dappe & Ancor Suárez-Alemán, 2016. "Competitiveness of South Asia’s Container Ports," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 24333.
    16. Hong-Oanh Nguyen & Hong-Van Nguyen & Young-Tae Chang & Anthony T. H. Chin & Jose Tongzon, 2016. "Measuring port efficiency using bootstrapped DEA: the case of Vietnamese ports," Maritime Policy & Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 644-659, July.
    17. Quintano, Claudio & Mazzocchi, Paolo & Rocca, Antonella, 2021. "Evaluation of the eco-efficiency of territorial districts with seaport economic activities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Yuen, Andrew Chi-lok & Zhang, Anming & Cheung, Waiman, 2013. "Foreign participation and competition: A way to improve the container port efficiency in China?," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 220-231.
    19. Shaher Z. Zahran & Jobair Bin Alam & Abdulrahem H. Al-Zahrani & Yiannis Smirlis & Stratos Papadimitriou & Vangelis Tsioumas, 2020. "Analysis of port efficiency using imprecise and incomplete data," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 219-246, March.
    20. Veronese da Silva, Aline & Costa, Marcelo Azevedo & Lopes-Ahn, Ana Lúcia, 2022. "Accounting multiple environmental variables in DEA energy transmission benchmarking modelling: The 2019 Brazilian case," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:taf:marpmg:v:42:y:2015:i:6:p:591-607. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Longhurst (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.tandfonline.com/TMPM20 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.