Impact of COVID-19 on the efficiency of Brazil’s major container terminals: a two-stage network DEA based Malmquist approach

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic not only represented a serious health issue but also a severe hit on global economy. Due to strict lockdowns, manufacturing and logistic activities have been suspended worldwide impacting different sectors, including maritime supply chains. This study applies a two-stage network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with a Malmquist index approach to 20 major Brazilian container terminals in order to analyze the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on their efficiency. The model uses three inputs (total area, number of berths and warehousing area), one intermediate input (shipment frequency) and one output (container throughput) considering physical infrastructure and shipment consolidation as the two efficiency drivers. The findings indicate the onset of COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on the sample’s terminals. Results can provide insights for future government policies and management strategies aimed at improving Brazilian container terminals’ efficiency, robustness, resilience, competitiveness and security ahead of supply chain disruptive events.