Performance of trucks - an evaluation using data envelopment analysis

Managers and researchers need a deeper insight into the performance of the truck industry. The complexity of factors affecting performance often leads to difficulty in determining an appropriate measure of efficiency. This paper demonstrates the usefulness of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model as a tool for evaluating the efficiency of trucks. The data comprise of trucks involved in road construction and maintenance production processes in the Norwegian road sector. The input saving potential for the whole fleet of trucks is found to be in the range 24 to 26 percent, while the output increasing potential is in the range 23 to 59 percent. The efficiency scores are dependent on regional specifications. Scale indicators reveal that most trucks are too large in capacity relative to the tasks that they perform. Neither the make nor the vintage of truck influences performance. Taking full advantage of the information provided by the DEA method is therefore useful to managers and researchers in detecting weaknesses and eradicating them, thus leading to improvements.