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Evaluating efficiency of international container shipping lines: A bootstrap DEA approach

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Maritime Economics & Logistics Aims and scope

Abstract

In this article, a non-parametric analysis of the efficiency of major international container shipping lines (CSLs) is conducted in order to evaluate the effects of the recent profound global economic crisis on such a crucial sector in seaborne trade. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is applied to highlight the efficiency status of top CSLs using a bias-corrected efficiency estimator. In the first stage, hypotheses regarding the underlying production frontier of major international CSLs are tested. In the second stage, an output-oriented, non-increasing returns to scale DEA model is used to compute efficiency scores estimates of the different CSLs. The model considers labour, number of ships and fleet capacity as inputs, and container throughput handled and turnover as outputs. Confidence interval estimates of efficiency and returns to scale for each CSL are reported. The results of the analysis indicate that none of the CSLs assessed operates under constant returns to scale and that average efficiency is 0.74, finding considerable waste in the production of CSLs for the year 2009. In addition, the major international CSLs in 2009 have oversized operations that exceed the most productive scale size. The evidence suggests that strategic alliance membership is not a guarantee for efficient practices in operations. There must be other reasons, purportedly of a strategic nature, for CSLs to join such alliances.

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Acknowledgements

This research was carried out with the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science Grant DPI2010–16201, and FEDER. We are grateful to Professor Oleg Badunenko, University of Cologne (Germany), who kindly provided us with the R code for returns to scale tests of DEA efficiency scores. The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Industrial Management, E.T.S.I., University of Seville, Camino de los Descubrimientos, Sevilla, s/n, 41092, Spain

    Ester Gutiérrez & Sebastián Lozano

  2. Fundación Valenciaport, Avda del Muelle del Turia, Valencia, s/n, 46024, Spain

    Salvador Furió

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  1. Ester Gutiérrez
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  2. Sebastián Lozano
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  3. Salvador Furió
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Gutiérrez, E., Lozano, S. & Furió, S. Evaluating efficiency of international container shipping lines: A bootstrap DEA approach. Marit Econ Logist 16, 55–71 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/mel.2013.21

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