EFFICIENCY OF TRUCKS IN ROAD CONSTRUCTION AND MAINTENANCE - AN EVALUATION WITH DATA ENVELOPMENT ANALYSIS

This paper focuses on the performance of trucks involved in road const ruction and maintenance, and operated by the regional agencies of a na tional public roads administration. The performance is evaluated from the productive efficiency point of view. The framework is that of a de terministic nonparametric (DEA) approach to efficiency measurement. In this context several important issues are addressed: efficiency ranki ng and distribution among trucks, the importance of an appropriate out put measure, impact of regional characteristics and the significance o f the make and model of the trucks.