Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Indian Container Terminals: Data Envelopment Analysis

Abstract

The total cargo volume for international maritime trade rebounded to 11.0 billion tons in 2021. In the maritime industry, container transport is an efficient and well-established mode of transportation. The container industry has grown faster than any other mode of cargo transportation over the past two decades, with 820 million TEUs handled annually across all ports. In the context of large ships with a capacity of 24,000 TEUs, it has become increasingly important for container ports and terminals to benchmark their efficiency, which has become an urgent requirement as ports and terminals become more complex. In other words, over the past few decades, global trade has grown exponentially, leading to a worldwide surge in container terminal operations. In the global trade scenario, India's container terminal efficiency is becoming increasingly important as one of the fastest-growing economies. Due to the above background, the effectiveness of Indian container ports is assessed in this article using Data Envelopment Analysis. In analysing the data, this article provides insights that can help improve the long-term efficiency of these terminals by shedding light on their strengths and weaknesses.