| Summary: | The measurement of port efficiency that excludes weather-related factors risks producing incomplete evaluations, as climatic conditions play a significant role in shaping port performance and resilience. This study develops a comprehensive, climate-sensitive framework for assessing the operational and environmental efficiency of twenty-five major container ports across East and Southeast Asia. In addressing the growing need for ports to perform reliably amid complex trade patterns and environmental disruptions, this study extends conventional data envelopment analysis (DEA) through a novel framework that integrates weather-related variables such as rainfall, temperature, and wind speed. Using a combination of Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) DEA, slacks-based measure (SBM), and a newly developed network DEA model, the study reveals substantial variation in port performance across the region. The assessment shows an average efficiency score of 0.823, with Singapore, Busan, and Hong Kong consistently near the frontier, while several emerging ports lag behind. Carbon dioxide emissions per twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) (12.8 kg to 22.4 kg) and weather disruptions caused efficiency drops of up to 10% in vulnerable ports, compared to less than 3% in resilient ones. Longitudinal analysis (2020 to 2023) shows strong productivity growth in some China and Malaysian ports, while others, such as Colombo, declined. Sensitivity tests highlight throughput TEU, cranes, and labor as the most influential variables, with efficiency shifts of about ±4% under a 10% input change. By integrating operational, environmental, and climatic dimensions into a unified model, this study provides both methodological advance and a practical decision-support tool for policymakers and port managers. The results underscore that port efficiency in the modern era must balance productivity, resilience, and sustainability to remain competitive in an increasingly volatile global trade environment.
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