Assessing the technological capabilities and efficiency of inland ports in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta: a hybrid DEA approach post-COVID-19

The Mekong Delta (MD) is Vietnam's agricultural export hub, yet its logistics competitiveness is constrained by fragmented infrastructure and a high dependence on transshipment ports. To diagnose operational bottlenecks and the resilience of this critical node, this study assesses the dynamic efficiency of 10 key inland ports from 2019 to 2023, encompassing the pre-COVID, during-COVID, and post-COVID phases. A hybrid approach integrating Window Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) was proposed to track performance fluctuations and decompose productivity drivers. The empirical results reveal a distinct "U-shaped" performance trajectory: average operational efficiency dropped to a trough of 46% during the pandemic shock (2019-2021) before recovering to 51% in the post-policy adaptation phase (2021-2023). Crucially, the analysis contradicts the common assumption of technology-led growth; overall productivity improvement was primarily driven by Technical Efficiency Change (Catch-up effect, TEC = 1.16) rather than Technological Change (Frontier shift, TC = 0.98), indicating a defensive "investment freeze" across the sector. Among the decision-making units (DMUs), Hau Giang Port emerged as a resilient benchmark, achieving a 19% efficiency gain, while traditional hubs faced congestion diseconomies. These findings provide policymakers with data-driven recommendations to shift focus from physical expansion to digital process optimization and strategic cargo diversification.