This study evaluates the efficiency of Chinese and South Korean container terminals, including four automated and twenty traditional terminals, using data envelopment analysis. The study considers the following six input variables: water depth, quay length, storage area, number of quay cranes, number of gantry cranes, and number of terminal transfer vehicles. Container throughput is considered as the output variable. The most efficient terminals, located in the East China, are: SYCT (Shanghai), SIPG (Shanghai), SMCT (Shanghai), SSICT (Shanghai), and LNOCT (Lianyungang). In terms of relative performance, other terminals located along the Chinese coastline are ranked in the middle, and the terminals of South Korea perform relatively less efficiently. Although the superiority of automated container terminals is not as distinct as expected, there is a clear efficiency contribution from the crane input variable, and there is reason to believe that a time-series DEA analysis would emphasize this feature more prominently.
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