Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis
Efficient logistics is a key factor in the competitiveness of seaports, especially in regions such as the Baltic Sea, where ports play important roles as hubs in the European Union’s Trans-European transport network (TEN-T). However, there are a lack of comprehensive studies focusing on the logistic...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2024-12-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/50 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588185945767936 |
|---|---|
| author | Vilma Locaitienė Kristina Čižiūnienė |
| author_facet | Vilma Locaitienė Kristina Čižiūnienė |
| author_sort | Vilma Locaitienė |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Efficient logistics is a key factor in the competitiveness of seaports, especially in regions such as the Baltic Sea, where ports play important roles as hubs in the European Union’s Trans-European transport network (TEN-T). However, there are a lack of comprehensive studies focusing on the logistics efficiency of Baltic Sea ports, especially those integrating technical and technological factors. This study aimed to assess changes in the logistics efficiency of 15 major ports in the Baltic Sea region between 2019 and 2023, taking into account the technological and infrastructure-related elements that influence port performance. The model developed by the authors integrates the nearest neighbour method for cluster identification, data envelopment analysis using the Banker, Charnes, and Cooper (DEA-BCC) model to assess the overall technical, pure technical, and scale logistics efficiency, and spatial autocorrelation analysis to explore spatial interactions. For the DEA-BCC model, constraints were defined for each port based on inputs (number and length of berths) and outputs (cargo and container volumes for 2019–2023). The spatial autocorrelation analysis examined the relationships among the Baltic Sea ports, container volumes, and logistic efficiency values derived from the DEA model. Recognizing the sensitivity of the weight matrix in previous studies, this paper introduced an enhanced two-factor weighting matrix that incorporated geographical distance and the port connectivity index, calculated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The statistical reliability of the results was validated using z-scores and <i>p</i>-values. The results showed that the overall technical efficiency of the ports analysed during the period considered was 47.2%, the pure technical efficiency was 61.0%, and the average scale efficiency was around 76%, indicating that diminishing returns to scale dominated. The spatial analysis showed a strong correlation between port connectivity and efficiency, indicating that well-connected ports, such as Gdańsk and Gdynia, had a higher efficiency. The findings make a significant contribution to the understanding of the logistics efficiency of Baltic Sea ports and highlights the importance of regional cooperation, infrastructure improvements, and better connectivity strategies to improve the overall efficiency of seaports in the region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2700d581bfc646f089a2c2d4b6672da2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj-art-2700d581bfc646f089a2c2d4b6672da22025-01-24T13:36:41ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122024-12-011315010.3390/jmse13010050Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial AnalysisVilma Locaitienė0Kristina Čižiūnienė1Department of Logistics and Transport Management, Faculty of Transport Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Plytinės Str. 25, LT-10105 Vilnius, LithuaniaDepartment of Logistics and Transport Management, Faculty of Transport Engineering, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Plytinės Str. 25, LT-10105 Vilnius, LithuaniaEfficient logistics is a key factor in the competitiveness of seaports, especially in regions such as the Baltic Sea, where ports play important roles as hubs in the European Union’s Trans-European transport network (TEN-T). However, there are a lack of comprehensive studies focusing on the logistics efficiency of Baltic Sea ports, especially those integrating technical and technological factors. This study aimed to assess changes in the logistics efficiency of 15 major ports in the Baltic Sea region between 2019 and 2023, taking into account the technological and infrastructure-related elements that influence port performance. The model developed by the authors integrates the nearest neighbour method for cluster identification, data envelopment analysis using the Banker, Charnes, and Cooper (DEA-BCC) model to assess the overall technical, pure technical, and scale logistics efficiency, and spatial autocorrelation analysis to explore spatial interactions. For the DEA-BCC model, constraints were defined for each port based on inputs (number and length of berths) and outputs (cargo and container volumes for 2019–2023). The spatial autocorrelation analysis examined the relationships among the Baltic Sea ports, container volumes, and logistic efficiency values derived from the DEA model. Recognizing the sensitivity of the weight matrix in previous studies, this paper introduced an enhanced two-factor weighting matrix that incorporated geographical distance and the port connectivity index, calculated by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). The statistical reliability of the results was validated using z-scores and <i>p</i>-values. The results showed that the overall technical efficiency of the ports analysed during the period considered was 47.2%, the pure technical efficiency was 61.0%, and the average scale efficiency was around 76%, indicating that diminishing returns to scale dominated. The spatial analysis showed a strong correlation between port connectivity and efficiency, indicating that well-connected ports, such as Gdańsk and Gdynia, had a higher efficiency. The findings make a significant contribution to the understanding of the logistics efficiency of Baltic Sea ports and highlights the importance of regional cooperation, infrastructure improvements, and better connectivity strategies to improve the overall efficiency of seaports in the region.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/50logistics efficiencyseaportdata envelopment analysisspatial analysis |
| spellingShingle | Vilma Locaitienė Kristina Čižiūnienė Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis Journal of Marine Science and Engineering logistics efficiency seaport data envelopment analysis spatial analysis |
| title | Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis |
| title_full | Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis |
| title_fullStr | Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis |
| title_short | Assessing the Logistics Efficiency of Baltic Region Seaports Through DEA-BCC and Spatial Analysis |
| title_sort | assessing the logistics efficiency of baltic region seaports through dea bcc and spatial analysis |
| topic | logistics efficiency seaport data envelopment analysis spatial analysis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/1/50 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vilmalocaitiene assessingthelogisticsefficiencyofbalticregionseaportsthroughdeabccandspatialanalysis AT kristinaciziuniene assessingthelogisticsefficiencyofbalticregionseaportsthroughdeabccandspatialanalysis |