Analysis of Global Competition in Container Port Performance Using the LOPCOW-CRADIS Integrated Method

This study analyses the container port performance of the twenty-one countries with the highest number of port calls, using UNCTADstat's 2023 container port performance data and employing multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods.In the model, created by selecting six of eight potential performance criteria based on correlation analysis, criterion weights were determined using the LOgarithmic Percentage Change-driven Objective Weighting (LOPCOW) method, while the countries' performance rankings were created using the Compromise Ranking of Alternatives from Distance to Ideal Solution (CRADIS) method.The findings show that the criterion "median time in port", which indicates the length of stay in port, has the greatest importance, while indicators related to container capacity and vessel age are additional critical factors determining performance.According to CRADIS results, China has been identified as the nation demonstrating the highest levels of performance, with Japan, Singapore, and France also ranking highly.Conversely, Norway, Australia, the Philippines, and Russia demonstrate the lowest performance. Sensitivity analyses revealed a high degree of consistency between different weighting methods (standard deviation-SD, Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation-CRITIC, Entropy) and ranking methods (Combinative Distance-based Assessment-CODAS, Multi-attributive Border Approximation Area Comparison-MABAC, Multi-attributive Ideal-real Comparative Analysis-MAIRCA, Additive Ratio Assessment-ARAS, Combined Compromise Solution-CoCoSo).The results indicate that improving port performance depends not only on infrastructure capacity but also on operational efficiency, quay planning, and reduced stay time at the port.