Container logistics in Mercosur: Choice of a transhipment port using the ordinal Copeland method, data envelopment analysis and probabilistic composition

This article aims at providing a systematic tool for the selection of the most suitable maritime route for containerized cargoes between different sets of coupled-ports. Possible routes are compared using the Copeland method, data envelopment analysis and probabilistic composition. The variables taken into account are time of transportation and cost at the port terminals, including container storage and operational transhipment costs. Data from a Brazilian shipping company, which has ships in fixed and regular routes along the East Coast of South America, were analysed. The analyses performed demonstrate the feasibility of objectively ranking routes, connecting different locations. This study also serves to expose the differences between the composition approaches.