The efficiency of national maritime logistics for 29 ocean countries: using super-efficiency DEA

With the expansion of the global supply chain, the efficiency of maritime logistics is considered a crucial factor for countries' trade and competitiveness. Nevertheless, prior research has not thoroughly evaluated the efficiency of maritime logistics, including countries' ports and shipping capacities. Accordingly, this study examines integrated maritime logistics efficiency at the national level using DEA-CCR, BCC, and super-efficiency DEA. Furthermore, this study identifies a difference between the selected countries' maritime logistics efficiency and LPI (Logistics Performance Index) through Spearman's correlation test as an ad-hoc analysis. From this, Asian countries showed higher efficiency and European countries showed higher LPI scores. These results might be derived from this difference in port-city development patterns. Additionally, the main cause of inefficiency in Europe and Japan might be attributed to high fleet capacity of control. Consequently, this study can provide valuable implications for coastal countries to set more efficient directions for maritime logistics investment and policy.