Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The technical efficiency of Norwegian container ports: A comparison to some Nordic and UK container ports using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA)

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Maritime Economics & Logistics Aims and scope

Abstract

In this article we evaluate the technical efficiency of Norwegian container ports relative to a frontier composed of the best performing among themselves and other comparable Nordic and UK ports. The rationale is that a technical efficiency assessment of Norwegian container ports has not been found in the literature; therefore, it is unknown what their potential for improvement relative to other comparable international ports is. A Data Envelopment Analysis is used to derive the technical and scale efficiencies. The data set comprises 24 container ports, which include ports from Norway, all the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom. The primary data were derived from various issues of Containerisation International Yearbook (CIY) and cover the period of 2002–2008. Besides the efficiency analysis, an effort was made to counter-check the CIYs data with the administrations of the respective container ports. This study concludes: (1) the average potentials for technical and scale efficiency improvement across ports and improvement during the period studied are 18 per cent and 13 per cent, respectively; (2) Norwegian ports are over-performers and under-performers with regard to technical and scale efficiency, respectively; (3) for Norwegian ports to improve their overall efficiency, they need to increase their size because they are too small relative to the tasks they perform; and (4) the data from the CIYs were found to be imprecise and unreliable in some cases.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Intent, Science Direct, Routledge, Inderscience and, the Social Science Citation Index. In addition, a complementary search was performed in the following journals: Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, the Journal of Productivity Analysis; the European Journal of Operational Research; the Journal of Production Economics; Omega: The International Journal of Management Science; the Annals of Operations Research; Maritime Economics & Logistics; the International Journal of Maritime Economics; the International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications; Review of Network Economics; Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice; Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review; Transportation, Transportation Policy; the Journal of Transportation Economics and Policy; Transport Reviews; Transportation Planning and Technology; the International Review of Business Research Papers; and the International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics.

References

  • Ablanedo-Rosas, J.H. and Ruiz-Torres, A.J. (2009) Benchmarking of Mexican ports with data envelopment analysis. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 1 (3): 276–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Eraqi, A., Mustafa, A., Khader, A. and Barros, C. (2008) Efficiency of Middle Eastern and East African seaports: Application of DEA using window analysis. European Journal of Scientific Research 23 (4): 597–612.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Eraqi, A.S., Mustafa, A. and Khader, A.T. (2010) An extended DEA windows analysis: Middle East and East African seaports. Journal of Economic Studies 37 (2): 208–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Banker, R.D., Charnes, A. and Cooper, W.W. (1984) Some models for estimating technical and scale inefficiencies in data envelopment analysis. Management Science 30 (9): 1078–1092.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barros, C.P. (2003) The measurement of efficiency of Portuguese sea port authorities with DEA. International Journal of Transport Economics, [Rivista Internazionale di Economia dei Trasporti] 30 (3): 335–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barros, C.P. (2005) Decomposing growth in Portuguese seaports: A frontier cost approach. Maritime Economics & Logistics 7 (4): 297–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barros, C.P. (2006) A benchmark analysis of Italian seaports using data envelopment analysis. Maritime Economics & Logistics 8 (4): 347–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barros, C.P. and Athanassiou, M. (2004) Efficiency in European seaports with DEA: Evidence from Greece and Portugal. Maritime Economics & Logistics 6 (2): 122–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bichou, K. (2011) A two-stage supply chain DEA model for measuring container-terminal efficiency. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 3 (1): 6–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charnes, A., Cooper, W.W. and Rhodes, E. (1978) Measuring the efficiency of decision making units. European Journal of Operational Research 2 (6): 429–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coto-Millan, P., Banos-Pino, J. and Rodriguez-Alvarez, A. (2000) Economic efficiency in Spanish ports: Some empirical evidence. Maritime Policy & Management 27 (2): 169–174.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K., Ji, P. and Wang, T.-F. (2005a) The relationship between privatization and DEA estimates of efficiency in the container port industry. Journal of Economics and Business 57 (5): 433–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K., Song, D.-W. and Wang, T.-F. (2005b) The application of mathematical programming approaches to estimating container port production efficiency. Journal of Productivity Analysis 24 (1): 73–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K. and Khanna, M. (2000) Economies of scale in large containerships: Optimal size and geographical implications. Journal of Transport Geography 8 (3): 181–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K. and Song, D.-W. (2003) A stochastic frontier model of the productive efficiency of Korean container terminals. Applied Economics 35 (3): 251–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K., Song, D.-W. and Gray, R. (2002) A stochastic frontier model of the efficiency of major container terminals in Asia: Assessing the influence of administrative and ownership structures. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 36 (8): 743–762.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K., Song, D.-W., Ji, P. and Wang, T.-F. (2004) An application of DEA windows analysis to container port production efficiency. Review of Network Economics 3 (2): 7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K.P. and Wang, T.-F. (2006) The efficiency of European container ports: A cross-sectional data envelopment analysis. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications 9 (1): 19–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K. and Wang, T.-F. (2010) The efficiency analysis of container port production using DEA panel data approaches. OR Spectrum 32 (3): 717–738.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cullinane, K., Wang, T.-F., Song, D.-W. and Ji, P. (2006) The technical efficiency of container ports: Comparing data envelopment analysis and stochastic frontier analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 40 (4): 354–374.

    Google Scholar 

  • Estache, A., González, M. and Trujillo, L. (2002) Efficiency gains from port reform and the potential for yardstick competition: Lessons from Mexico. World Development 30 (4): 545–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golany, B. and Roll, Y. (1989) An application procedure for DEA. Omega International Journal of Management Sciences 17 (3): 237–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • González, M.I.M. and Trujillo, L. (2008) Reforms and infrastructure efficiency in Spain's container ports. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 42 (1): 243–257.

    Google Scholar 

  • González, M. and Trujillo, L. (2009) Efficiency measurement in the port industry: A survey of the empirical evidence. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 43 (2): 157–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haralambides, H., Hussain, M., Barros, C.P. and Peypoch, N. (2010) A new approach in benchmarking seaport efficiency and technological change. International Journal of Transport Economics 27 (1): 77–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hung, S.W., Lu, W.M. and Wang, T.P. (2010) Benchmarking the operating efficiency of Asia container ports. European Journal of Operational Research 203 (3): 706–713.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Itoh, H. (2002) Effeciency changes at major container ports in Japan: A window application of data envelopment analysis. Review of Urban & Regional Development Studies 14 (2): 133–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaisar, E.I., Pathomsiri, S. and Haghani, A. (2006) Effeciency measurement of US ports using data envelopment analysis. In: National Urban Freight Conference, Long Beach, CA, 1–3 February, p. 16.

  • Kamble, S.S., Raoot, A.D. and Khanapuri, V.B. (2010) Improving port efficiency: A comparative study of selected ports in India. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 2 (4): 444–470.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin, L. and Tseng, C. (2007) Operational performance evaluation of major container ports in the Asia-Pacific region. Maritime Policy & Management 34 (6): 535–551.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, B.-L., Liu, W.-L. and Cheng, C.-P. (2008) The efficiency of container terminals in mainland China: An application of DEA approach. 4th International Conference on Wireless Communications, Networking and Mobile Computing, WiCOM ’08. 2008 IEEE Xplore digital library, pp. 1–10.

  • Liu, Z. (1995) The comparative performance of public and private enterprises: The case of British ports. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy 29 (3): 263–274.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martinez-Budria, E., Diaz-Armas, R., Navarro-Ibanez, M. and Ravelo-Mesa, T. (1999) A study of the efficiency of Spanish port authorities using data envelopment analysis. International Journal of Transport Economics, [Rivista Internazionale di Economia dei Trasporti] 26 (2): 237–253.

    Google Scholar 

  • Min, H. and Park, B.I. (2005) Evaluating the inter-temporal efficiency trends of international container terminals using data envelopment analysis. International Journal of Integrated Supply Management 1 (3): 258–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Min, H. and Park, B.I. (2008) A hybrid Data Envelopment Analysis and simulation methodology for measuring capacity utilisation and throughput efficiency of container terminals. International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management 4 (6): 650–672.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munisamy, S. and Singh, G. (2011) Benchmarking the efficiency of Asian container ports. African Journal of Business Management 5 (4): 1397–1407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng, A.S.F. and Lee, C.X. (2007) Productivity analysis of container ports in Malaysia: A DEA approach. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies 7: 2940–2952.

    Google Scholar 

  • Notteboom, T., Coeck, C. and Van Den Broeck, J. (2000) Measuring and explaining the relative efficiency of container terminals by means of Bayesian stochastic frontier models. Maritime Economics & Logistics 2 (2): 83–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notteboom, T.E. (1997) Concentration and load centre development in the European container port system. Journal of Transport Geography 5 (2): 99–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Notteboom, T.E. (2010) Concentration and the formation of multi-port gateway regions in the European container port system: An update. Journal of Transport Geography 18 (4): 567–583.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odeck, J. and Bråthen, S. (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 46 (10): 1574–1585.

    Google Scholar 

  • Panayides, P., Maxoulis, C., Wang, T.-F. and Ng, K. (2009) A critical analysis of DEA applications to seaport economic efficiency measurement. Transport Reviews 29 (2): 183–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, R.K. and De, P. (2004) An alternative approach to efficiency measurement of seaports. Maritime Economics & Logistics 6 (1): 53–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rios, L. and Maçada, A. (2006) Analysing the relative efficiency of container terminals of Mercosur using DEA. Maritime Economics & Logistics 8 (4): 331–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roll, Y. and Hayuth, Y. (1993) Port performance comparison applying data envelopment analysis (DEA). Maritime Policy & Management 20 (2): 153–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simões, P. and Marques, R. (2010) Seaport performance analysis using robust non-parametric efficiency estimators. Transportation Planning and Technology 33 (5): 435–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • So, S.H., Kim, J.J., Cho, G. and Kim, D. (2007) Efficiency analysis and ranking of major container ports in Northeast Asia: An application of Data Envelopment Analysis. International Review of Business Research Papers 3 (2): 486–503.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Norway. (2011) Maritime transport statistics. [internet] Available at: http://www.ssb.no/havn_en/(read: May 2011).

  • Tongzon, J. (2001) Efficiency measurement of selected Australian and other international ports using data envelopment analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 35 (2): 107–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tongzon, J. and Heng, W. (2005) Port privatization, efficiency and competitiveness: Some empirical evidence from container ports (terminals). Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 39 (5): 405–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trujillo, L. and Tovar, B. (2007) The European port industry: An analysis of its economic efficiency. Maritime Economics & Logistics 9 (2): 148–171.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valentine, V.F. and Gray, R. (2001) The measurement of port efficiency using data envelopment analysis. In: Proceedings of the 9th World Conference on Transport Research, Seoul, South Korea.

  • Wang, T.-F. and Cullinane, K. (2006) The efficiency of European container terminals and implications for supply chain management. Maritime Economics & Logistics 8 (1): 82–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, T.-F., Cullinane, K. and Song, D.-W. (2003) Container port production efficiency: A comparative study of DEA and FDH approach. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies 5: 698–713.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, T.-F., Cullinane, K. and Song, D.-W. (2005) Container Port Production and Economic Efficiency. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, p. 189.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Woo, S.-H., Pettit, S., Kwak, D.-W. and Beresford, A. (2011) Seaport research: A structured literature review on methodological issues since the 1980s. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice 45 (7): 667–685.

    Google Scholar 

  • Woo, S.-H., Pettit, S. and Beresford, A. (2012) Seaport research: A decadal analysis of trends and themes since the 1980s. Transport Reviews 32 (3): 351–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J. and Liang, L. (2009) Performances and benchmarks of container ports using data envelopment analysis. International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics 1 (3): 295–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, J., Yan, H. and Liu, J. (2010) DEA models for identifying sensitive performance measures in container port evaluation. Maritime Economics & Logistics 12 (3): 215–236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu, Y.-C. and Goh, M. (2010) Container port efficiency in emerging and more advanced markets. Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review 46 (6): 1030–1042.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to many port authorities and port terminals for providing data for this study. The authors are sincerely thankful to comments from two anonymous referees and MEL editor-in-chief and editorial office for their conscientious work on this article. Any errors are our responsibility.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vestfold University College, PO Box 2243, Tønsberg, NO-3103, Norway

    Halvor Schøyen

  2. Molde University College, PO Box 6405, Molde, Norway

    James Odeck

  3. Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 7491, Norway

    James Odeck

Authors
  1. Halvor Schøyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. James Odeck
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schøyen, H., Odeck, J. The technical efficiency of Norwegian container ports: A comparison to some Nordic and UK container ports using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Marit Econ Logist 15, 197–221 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1057/mel.2013.3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/mel.2013.3

Keywords

Search

Navigation