Framework for logistics performance index construction using DEA: an application for soybean haulage in Brazil

Abstract

Freight transportation is vital to a nation’s long-term development and its performance needs to be carefully evaluated to ensure the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of haulage infrastructure decisions. The previous attempts at benchmarking the transportation corridors and route efficiency through Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) models violated homogeneity assumptions or did not provide an appropriate robustness analysis. The present paper integrates index creation and general DEA guidelines, and proposes a framework for the creation of a long-distance cargo haulage performance index, advancing towards the limitations of the previous efforts. The methodology is applied to the context of soybean transportation, one of the relevant Brazilian exporting products, during the harvest of 2015/2016, from the main mid-sized producing regions to the key exporting ports, by land transportation. The proposed approach and findings can provide insights into public and private long-term investment strategies and infrastructure policies in Brazil and other developing countries in a similar context.