Port performance is a crucial metric to international trade. Through it, operators are able to determine which ports and countries are better prepared to handle their cargo. At the same time, carriers can use such a metric to gain a clear perspective into which countries could serve as ideal stops as they design optimal shipping routes. 

However, in spite of the great importance of port performance, it is difficult to find reliable data on the matter. In this article, we tackle the problem head on and use a recent dataset published by the World Bank to outline the most efficient countries when it comes to port management and why such a metric matters to the world.

Let’s start with the basics: the data. Arguably, the best metric for port performance there is, comes from the Logistics Performance Index (LPI)—a dataset published by the World Bank periodically, aggregating data for most countries in the planet. The data itself aims to score most countries on the planet based on a number of key logistics indicators, including their performance in customs, the availability of infrastructure, timeliness, and other data points. Using these metrics, each country receives a score of up to five points—although, the highest score in 2023 was 4.3. For reference, in 2023, the average LPI score was a 3.0, with a standard deviation of 0.5. Together, this gives us a good metric as to how a given country might handle shipments across all of its ports—although individual scores for each port are not made available by the LPI.

The map below plots the most recent values for the LPI provided by the World  Bank. As the map shows, more developed nations tend to have high LPIs. Countries like Singapore, Finland, and Denmark are amongst the best performers in the index, while less developed nations like Somalia, and Haiti rank far below the average. It is also worth noting that there are meaningful clusters of high performance in Europe and North America.

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Since the World Bank publishes its LPI report regularly, it is also possible to look at how port performance varies over time. In all, it seems to be the case that port performance is increasing in recent years. In 2007—the earliest year for which data was available—, the average global LPI score was 2.74. By 2023, that number had increased to 3.0 as we mentioned before. Moreover, as the bar graph below shows, all the components considered in calculating the 2023 LPI score saw increases between 2007 and 2023. All this suggests that, around the world, ports are becoming more efficient with time.

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Yet despite the seemingly upwards trend, there have been considerable shifts in the top performers. In the bump chart below, we put the sixteen top ranking countries when it comes to port performance. The LPI has been published semi consistently since 2007—with a notable gap due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As we can see from the figure, three of the top performers (Singapore, Germany, and The Netherlands) maintained their positions during the time examined with some mild fluctuation. Excluding them, however, variance becomes much higher, as shown by the case of Denmark. In 2007, the country ranked as the 13th most efficient before jumping to the third spot in 2023. The same is true for FInland which was catapulted from the 15th position in 2007 to the second in 2023.

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As one can likely tell from the graphs above, there is a strong presence of Europe and ascertain parts of Asia in this list. This is likely a  reflection of overall development, and the importance each nation gives to global trade.

Now, the real question to answer is why these metrics are important to global trade. Do more efficient ports actually result in more trade?

To answer this question, we decided to relate LPI scores to a more tangible metric. Namely, the number of containers each country handles in a year. The figure below plots both metrics, with LPI scores on the x-axis and TEUs handled in 2023 on the y-axis. As the data suggests, there is a mild and positive correlation between both variables. That is, countries with higher LPI scores tend to handle more TEUs in a year. There is one meaningful exception, though. The one crucial outlier to this trend is China which has a lower LPI score than expected but handles a great amount of cargo. Even with China on the data set, though, the correlation between both variables probes to be significant (with a p-value of 0.025)—although, without China, the pattern is even stronger and the p-value is well below 0.001.

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A similar and important metric to track is just how much do port capabilities translate into delays. This is shown when looking closely at one metric the World Bank releases on par to the LPI. That is, the average days it takes to complete an import or export transaction.

The map below shows the average dwell days it takes to perform an import operation. Namely, how long it takes for a vessel to enter a port. Data seems to be homogeneous given the broad extremes that go from 0.1 to 31.3 days. But, if you hover your mouse over each country, you’ll be able to see the exact number of days taken to finalize an import operation.

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The same is true for export times—or how long it takes for a vessel to exit a port from which it is receiving cargo. The map below, much as the last, shows the average says it takes to perform an export operation on average in the ports of a country. Interestingly, export operations seem to be less complex than their imports counterparts. On average, the global dwell time for an import operation is 9.1 days, whereas that for an export operation is 7.7 days. Exports also seem to be less variant than imports. The standard deviation for imports is little above five days, whereas for exports it is just 3.9 days.

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All the above suggests that, depending on the country, shippers and carriers will undergo vastly different logistics experiences. When companies shave full information on these data points, they will be better able to foresee potential risks to their supply chains in any given country. 

That is why we are building —because we believe companies should have full access to logistics information and how delays might impact their shipment. Our product gives users complete visibility to their individual shipments and how disruptions might impact their supply chain. If you’d like to see how we could help you create a more resilient supply chain, make sure to schedule a demo.