Article: Transhipment: when movement matters in port efficiency Journal: International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics (IJSTL) 2024 Vol.18 No.4 pp.383 - 402 Abstract: Container ports are leading actors in globalisation. They serve massed (increasingly larger ships) and planetary (organised in networks) logistics processes. There is evidence of a high relationship between containerised cargo and ports' performance. However, there is also a lack of literature regarding its sources. This paper uses frontier analysis techniques to investigate whether the type of activity (import/export, transhipment or cabotage) is crucial in explaining port efficiency. To this end, a two-stage procedure is proposed. In the first stage, the efficiency of ten Spanish ports specialised in container traffic is estimated by DEA techniques. In the second, the different types of container traffic activities are evaluated. Results suggested that port efficiency is: 1) highly related to the typology of containerisation activity; 2) through a non-linear form (inverted U-shape). Thus, ports that combine both <i>transhipment</i> and <i>import-export</i> activities outperform those specialised in one of these activities. Inderscience Publishers - linking academia, business and industry through research

Title: Transhipment: when movement matters in port efficiency

Authors: Fernando González-Laxe; Xose Luis Fernández; Pablo Coto-Millán

Addresses: University Institute of Maritime Studies, A Coruña University, Spain ' Department of Economics, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Avda. De los Castros S/N, CP: 39005, Santander, Cantabria, Spain ' Department of Economics, Universidad de Cantabria, Santander, Avda. De los Castros S/N, CP: 39005, Santander, Cantabria, Spain

Abstract: Container ports are leading actors in globalisation. They serve massed (increasingly larger ships) and planetary (organised in networks) logistics processes. There is evidence of a high relationship between containerised cargo and ports' performance. However, there is also a lack of literature regarding its sources. This paper uses frontier analysis techniques to investigate whether the type of activity (import/export, transhipment or cabotage) is crucial in explaining port efficiency. To this end, a two-stage procedure is proposed. In the first stage, the efficiency of ten Spanish ports specialised in container traffic is estimated by DEA techniques. In the second, the different types of container traffic activities are evaluated. Results suggested that port efficiency is: 1) highly related to the typology of containerisation activity; 2) through a non-linear form (inverted U-shape). Thus, ports that combine both transhipment and import-export activities outperform those specialised in one of these activities.

Keywords: efficiency; container ports; transhipment; import-export.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTL.2024.140429

International Journal of Shipping and Transport Logistics, 2024 Vol.18 No.4, pp.383 - 402

Received: 12 Jan 2022
Accepted: 10 Nov 2022
Published online: 08 Aug 2024 *

Title: Transhipment: when movement matters in port efficiency

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