Assessment of Port Efficiency in West Africa Using Data Envelopment Analysis

George Kobina van Dyck

School of Economics and Management, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China.

DOI: 10.4236/ajibm.2015.54023                

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to apply the DEA method in assessing efficiencies of major ports in West Africa. Six ports were selected based on their container throughput levels, and the DEA model was used to determine their relative efficiencies and their efficiencies over time through window analysis. The DEA model was applied to a number of inputs of port production and a single output (container throughput). It was determined that the Port of Tema in Ghana was the most efficient West African port under study. Although Tema exhibited some inefficiency in its operations, the port was found to make good use of its resources for production. On the other extreme, the Port of Cotonou in Benin was found to be the least efficient port obtaining the lowest average efficiency rating over a seven year period. It was determined that the port exhibited a substantial waste in production. Generally, ports in West Africa could be said to exhibit high levels of efficiency con-sidering that four out of six ports had an average efficiency score of 76% or higher for the period under study.

Keywords

DEA Analysis, Port Efficiency, West-Africa, Hub Port, Window Analysis

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Cullinane, K. and Wang, T.-F. (2007) Devolution, Port Governance and Port Performance. Research in Transportation Economics, 17, 517-566. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0739-8859(06)17023-7
[2]	van Dyck, G.K. (2015) The Drive for a Regional Hub Port for West Africa: General Requirements and Capacity Forecast. International Journal of Business and Economics Research, 4, 36-44.
[3]	Lekki Port (2014) Key Facts. http://lekkiport.com/theport/key-facilities.html
[4]	Port Finance International (2014) GPHA Secures $1.5bn for Tema Port Expansion. http://portfinanceinternational.com/categories/finance-deals/item/1852-gpha-secures-$1-5bn-for-tema-port-expansion
[5]	ITN Source (2014) TOGO: Togo Launches 640 Million US Dollar Berth Expansion at Lome Port. http://www.itnsource.com/en/shotlist/RTV/2014/10/15/RTV151014011/
[6]	AFDB (2010) Gowing Forward: Developing Regional Hubs in Africa. http://www.afdb.org/fileadmin/uploads/afdb/Documents/Publications/African%20 Development%20Report%202010_CH%206.pdf
[7]	Ng, A.S.F. and Lee, C.X. (2007) Productivity Analysis of Container Ports in Malaysia: A DEA Approach. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 7, 2940-2952.
[8]	Wang, T., Song, D. and Cullinane, K. (2002) The Applicability of Data Envelopment to Efficiency Measurement of Container Ports. Conference Proceedings of the IAME, Panama.
[9]	Wang, T.-F., Song, D.-W. and Cullinane, K. (2003) Container Port Production Efficiency: A Comparative Study of DEA and FDH Approaches. Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, 5, 698-713.
[10]	UNCTAD (1976) Port Performance Indicators, TD/B/ C.4/131/Supp.1/Rev.1. United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, New York.
[11]	Martinez-Budria, E., Diaz-Armas, R., Navarro-Ibanez, M. and Ravelo-Mesa, T. (1999) A Study of the Efficiency of Spanish Port Authorities Using Data Envelopment Analysis. International Journal of Transport Economics, 26, 237-253.
[12]	Tongzon, J. (2001) Efficiency Measurement of Selected Australian and Other International Ports Using Data Envelopment Analysis. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 35, 107-122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0965-8564(99)00049-X
[13]	Valentine, V.F. and Gray, R. (2001) The Measurement of Port Efficiency Using Data Envelopment Analysis. Proceedings of the 9th World Conference on Transport Research, Seoul, 22-27 July 2001.
[14]	Marlow, P. and Paixão, A. (2002) Measuring Lean Ports Performance. Proceedings of the International Association of Maritime Economists, Panama, November 2002, 13-15.
[15]	Itoh, H. (2002) Efficiency Changes at Major Container Ports in Japan: A Window Application of Data Envelopment Analysis. Review of Urban and Regional Development Studies, 14, 133-152. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-940X.00052
[16]	Barros, C.P. (2003) Incentive Regulation and Efficiency of Portuguese Port Authorities. Maritime Economics & Logistics, 5, 55-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100060
[17]	Barros, C.P. (2003) The Measurement of Efficiency of Portuguese Seaport Authorities with DEA. International Journal of Transport Economics, 30, 335-354.
[18]	Barros, C.P. and Athanassiou, M. (2004) Efficiency in European Seaports with DEA: Evidence from Greece and Portugal. Maritime Economics and Logistics, 6, 122-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100099
[19]	Bonilla, M., Casasus, T., Medal, A. and Sala, R. (2004) An Efficiency Analysis of the Spanish Port System. International Journal of Transport Economics, 31, 379-400.
[20]	Cullinane, K.P.B., Wang, T.F. and Cullinane, S.L. (2004) Container Terminal Development in Mainland China and Its Impact on the Competitiveness of the Port of Hong Kong. Transport Reviews, 24, 33-56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0144164032000122334
[21]	Park, R.K. and De, P. (2004) An Alternative Approach to Efficiency Measurement of Seaports. Maritime Economics and Logistics, 6, 53-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.mel.9100094
[22]	Turner, H., Windle, R. and Dresner, M. (2004) North American Containerport Productivity: 1984-1997. Transportation Research Part E, 40, 339-356. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tre.2003.06.001
[23]	Cullinane, K.P.B., Wang, T.F., Song, D.W. and Ji, P. (2005) A Comparative Analysis of DEA and SFA Approaches to Estimating the Technical Efficiency of Container Ports. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 40, 354-374.
[24]	Cullinane, K., Song, D.W., Ji, P. and Wang, T.F. (2005) The Relationship between Privatization and DEA Estimates of Efficiency in the Container Port Industry. Journal of Economics and Business, 57, 433-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconbus.2005.02.007
[25]	Min, H. and Park, B. (2005) Evaluating the Inter-Temporal Efficiency Trends of International Container Terminals Using Data Envelopment Analysis. International Journal of Integrated Supply Management, 1, 258-277. http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJISM.2005.005950
[26]	Cullinane, K.P.B. and Wang, T.F. (2006) The Efficiency of European Container Ports: A Cross-Sectional Data Envelopment Analysis. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications, 9, 19-31. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13675560500322417
[27]	Kaisar, I., Pathomsiri, S. and Haghani, A. (2006) Efficiency Measurement of US Ports Using Data Envelopment Analysis. National Urban Freight Conference, Long Beach California, 1-3 February 2006, 16.
[28]	Charnes, A., Cooper, W.W. and Rhodes, E. (1978) Measuring the Efficiency of Decision Making Units. European Journal of Operational Research, 2, 429-444. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0377-2217(78)90138-8
[29]	Banker, R., Charnes, A. and Cooper, W. (1984) Some Models for Estimating Technical and Scale Inefficiencies in Data Envelopment Analysis. Management Science, 30, 1078-1092. http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.30.9.1078
[30]	Al-Eraqi, A.S., Barros, C.P., Mustaffa, A. and Khader, A.T. (2008) Efficiency of Middle Eastern and East African Seaports: Application of DEA Using Window Analysis. European Journal of Scientific Research, 23, 597-612.
[31]	Tulkens, H. and van den Eeckhaut, P. (1995) Non-Frontier Measures of Efficiency, Progress and Regress for Time Series Data. International Journal of Production Economics, 39, 83-97. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0925-5273(95)00002-6
[32]	Pjevcevic, D., Radonjic, A., Hrle, Z. and Colic, V. (2012) DEA Window Analysis for Measuring Port Efficiencies in Serbia. PROMET-Traffic & Transportation, 24, 63-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.7307/ptt.v24i1.269
[33]	Chung, S.H., Lee, A., Kang, H.Y. and Lai, C.W. (2008) A DEA Window Analysis on the Product Family Mix Selection for a Semiconductor Fabricator. Expert Systems with Applications, 35, 379-388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2007.07.011
[34]	Asmild, M., Paradi, J., Aggrawall, V. and Shaffni, C. (2004) Combining DEA Window Analysis with the Malmquist Index Approach in a Study of the Canadian Banking Industry. Journal of Productivity Analysis, 21, 67-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/B:PROD.0000012453.91326.ec
[35]	Charnes, A., Cooper, W.W., Lewin, A.Y. and Seiford, L.M. (1994) Data Envelopment Analysis: Theory, Methodology, and Application. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell.
[36]	World Bank (2014) Container Port Traffic (TEU: 20 Foot Equivalent Units). http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IS.SHP.GOOD.TU
[37]	PMAWCA (2015) Members, Statistics. Port Management Association for West and Central Africa, 15 March 2015. http://www.en.agpaoc-pmawca.org/members/
[38]	MLTC/CATRAM (2013) Market Study on Container Terminals in West and Central Africa. Maritime Logistics and Trade Consulting/Catram Consultants, Paris.