Frontier Analysis of the Container Ports in Taiwan During the COVID Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak has severely impacted global trade and cultural exchanges. Among its impacts are those on the international container shipping market, which is directly related to the national economy and trade and has naturally been affected. This market was in the doldrums during the pandemic. In general, COVID-19 has severely constrained shipping industry development in various countries. To this end, this study analyzes the frontier changes in the efficiency development of Taiwan's international container ports by collecting realistic operational data of the major container ports during the pandemic and combining them with measurements of the Malmquist Productivity Index and DEA theoretical methods. Finally, this study finds that the overall operating atmosphere during 2020e2021 was improved, which was directly related to the mitigation of the pandemic.