Port Performance and Efficiency

Tongszon (1995, Transportation Research A, Vol 29A, No. 3, 245-252) studies what determine port performance and efficiency. He measured port performance in terms of the number of containers moved through a port (throughput) on the assumption that ports are throughput maximisers. To measure port efficiency, he looks at the terminal operation aspect which is measured in terms of the number of containers loaded and unloaded while a ship is at berth. This aspect of terminal operation constitutes the largest component of the total ship turnaround time.

Functional Relationship:

TH = f (LOC, FS, EA, CH, E)
+ + + - +

E = g (CONMIX, BRLWT, GWLN, CHWH, TEUCH, CE)
+ - - + + +

where:
TH = number of containers (TEUs) in a year;
LOC = location represented by a dummy variable;
FS = frequency of ship calls (all);
CH = average government and port charges;
EA = level of economic activity measured by respective countries’ GDP;
E = terminal efficiency (i.e., average number of containers per berth hour);
CONMIX = average container mix represented by the proportion of 40-foot containers;
BRLWT = average delays in commencing stevedoring represented by the difference between the berth time and gross working time;
GWLN = average delays during stevedoring represented by the difference between gross working and net working time;
CHWH = average crane hours per working hour;
TEUCH = average crane productivity represented by the number of containers lifted per crane hour;
CE = average vessel size and cargo exchange.


Conclusions

The stronger influence of terminal efficiency relative to other factors in the determination of port performance provides an empirical justification for giving top priority to improving terminal performance in the overall process of waterfront reform. The dominant contribution of crane productivity (TEUCH) to terminal efficiency justifies the need to put more emphasis on enhancements of crane productivity.