Küresel dengesizliklerin denizcilik sektörüne etkileri: Türkiye'deki limanların yük elleçleme verimlilikleri üzerine istatistiksel bir analiz

Maritime sector has a crucial role in international trade, acts as a main enabler while carrying 90% of the world merchandise goods. That is why global economic and trade activities, or any imbalances affect maritime sector directly. Although Turkey has natural maritime advantages, it fell behind of the global seaborne trade. Insufficient attention and weak policies created today's problems that put Turkish maritime sector in more vulnerable position against global imbalances. To eliminate these problems and to increase Turkey's share in international maritime sector, the first station is Turkish ports and increasing their efficiency. Because if maritime transport is running the circulation system of global trade, ports are best spots to measure the blood pressure. In this study import and export port throughput efficiencies of the Turkish ports was determined, and results were evaluated to measure the impact of global imbalances occurred in the last 15 years which are 2008 Global Economic Crisis and US-China Trade Wars. The efficiency analyses were carried out by Data Envelopment Analysis method. In the literature port efficiency analyses mostly used port's physical features and as the distinguishing feature, this study looks from the wider frame to this point and use both physical and economic parameters to evaluate port throughput efficiency. By revealing the results, relatively efficient/inefficient periods and underlying reasons were highlighted. Export port throughput efficiency were found highly sensitive to the global economic and commercial imbalances, and the sensitivity of the import port throughput is found more related with the national economic structure and conditions. The results indicate a clear path for policy implications that were suggested for primary economic and financial instabilities and structural problems to increase the port throughput efficiency, to provide safer environment for members and candidates of maritime sector, to operate more efficiently in the time of global imbalances. Keywords: Maritime Sector, Global Imbalances, Economic and Financial Crisis, Trade Wars, Turkish Port Throughput Efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA),