Operational efficiency of shipping companies: Evidence from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam

PurposeThis paper is the first comprehensive investigation of the shipping industry's efficiency in five countries from the ASEAN region: Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachEmploying Data Envelopment Analysis and Stochastic Frontier Analysis, this paper compares efficiency dynamics of 45 international and offshore shipping providers engaged in fishing and ferrying.FindingsThe results indicate consistently diminishing efficiency from 2011 to 2017, a phenomenon that persists even in the traditionally efficient companies. Thereafter, this paper develops Altman Z-scores for the sampled companies and notice that despite rising inefficiency, most firms remain unencumbered by bankruptcy concerns, especially those with large capital buffers.Research limitations/implicationsIn general, this paper observes a negative relationship between bankruptcy risk and efficiency. Furthermore, the paper notices that reducing inputs does not help boost efficiency.Originality/valueIn terms of novel contributions, this paper is the first (to the best of knowledge) to set a Z-score for the ASEAN-based shipping companies.