Analysis of Inland River Port Efficiency, Influencing Factors and Spatiotemporal Evolvement——Based on the Perspective of Ports Along the Yangtze River

Seventeen inland river ports along the Yangtze River were selected as examples to estimate port efficiency from 2012 to 2017 by using a stochastic frontier production function and exogenous factors. The convergence analysis tool was used to study the convergence and divergence of port efficiency. The results show that the overall average efficiency of ports along the Yangtze River is low. Among them, the port efficiency of Chongqing and downstream Jiangsu region is higher; the port efficiency in Anhui province is not high, and there exists a “collapse” phenomenon. In addition, the level of economic development and the ratio of industrial output value have significant promoting effect on the improvement of port efficiency, while the number of 10 000-ton docks and the increase in import and export trade will not promote the improvement of port efficiency. The efficiency convergence of ports along the Yangtze River is weak, and the port development in different regions is not balanced.