Effects of port positioning in liner shipping networks on port efficiency

Effets du positionnement des ports dans les réseaux de lignes régulières sur l’efficience portuaire

Victor Petroff () and Gabriel Figueiredo de Oliveira ()
Additional contact information
Victor Petroff: LEAD - Laboratoire d'Économie Appliquée au Développement - UTLN - Université de Toulon, UTLN - Université de Toulon
Gabriel Figueiredo de Oliveira: LEAD - Laboratoire d'Économie Appliquée au Développement - UTLN - Université de Toulon, UTLN - Université de Toulon

Working Papers from HAL

Abstract: This study examines the impact of container ports' positions within the global maritime network – particularly their degree of centrality – on port efficiency. Using data from 117 maritime routes in 2010, we analyze 85 international ports located in Asia, Europe, and North America. Several indicators derived from network theory, including centrality, clustering, and the maximum distance of a direct maritime link - which captures a port's ability to serve distant markets - are incorporated into a two-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model following the double bootstrap methodology proposed by Simar and Wilson (2007). The results reveal significant regional disparities in port efficiency, with Asian ports – especially those in China – achieving the highest performance levels. The second-stage analysis shows that both centrality and clustering have a positive effect on port efficiency. This latter effect is particularly evident among a North American port community benefiting from shipping lines' service design choices. Overall, the findings underscore not only the importance of port positioning within the global maritime network but also the influence of port community structures on port efficiency.

Keywords: Data Envelopment Analysis; Ports; Efficiency; Centrality; Network Theory; Modèle par enveloppement des données; Centralité; Théorie des réseaux; Efficience (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10-20
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://univ-tln.hal.science/hal-05120552v2
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://univ-tln.hal.science/hal-05120552v2/document (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:wpaper:hal-05120552

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers from HAL
Bibliographic data for series maintained by CCSD ().