Port efficiency in Argentina from 2012 to 2017: An ally for sustained economic growth

The Argentine port system can contribute to the country's sustainable economic growth and improve competitiveness despite recent instability. The objective of this research is to quantify the levels of technical efficiency in containerized goods terminals in Argentina for the period 2012 to 2017. The characteristics of Argentina's terminals such as the location of the region, type of goods or infrastructure, generate heterogeneity among them and justify the use of true-random-effect model estimation. The most significant findings obtained from the analysis reveal low levels of technical efficiency but, at the same time, they point out new opportunities for collaboration between public and private operators. •Argentina has a significant heterogeneity between the different port terminals of containerized goods.•The gigantism phenomenon on port container traffic has not manifested in Argentina.•Private operators are more efficient than public operators.•Technical efficiency levels are below 0.50 although their annual growth rate was 12.17%.