The efficiency of the road transport sector in Poland and other member states of the European Union

Efektywność sektora transportu drogowego w Polsce i innych krajach Unii Europejskiej

Abstract

Transport is one of the most essential sectors of EU Member State economies. Road transport has the highest share of freight transport in the European Union. In 2010 the volume of goods transported, measured by transport performance in EU countries, amounted to 3831 billion t.km, and road transport accounted for nearly half the transport (45.9%). From the perspective of the whole economy as well as companies operating in the transport sector it is crucial to measure the efficiency of transport operations. This measurement can be made based on traditional, one-dimensional financial and economic indicators or using methods which allow to compare the relationship of several inputs and outputs. The purpose of this article is to determine the efficiency of road freight transport in Poland and in other countries of the European Union based on the Data Envelopment Analysis method. The calculated DEA model uses the following variables: number of employees, turnover of road transport undertakings and the volume of freight transport of goods by road. The highest efficiency of the transport sector was achieved by 5 countries (Germany, Netherlands, Luxemburg, Austria, Slovakia).