Sustainable Development Impact of Digital Transformation on Port Performance: Evidence from Tangshan Port

Although the importance of digital transformation in contemporary port development has been widely acknowledged, there is little empirical research on the extent to which it promotes sustainable development by reducing costs and increasing efficiency. This study takes the digital transformation of one of the largest ports in northern China—Tangshan Port—as an example, as the application of digital technologies has greatly improved its operational efficiency. By using cargo throughput and container throughput data from Tangshan Port as the experimental group and from Qinhuangdao Port as the control group, difference-in-differences regression models with monthly data and port fixed effects were adopted to clarify the impact of digital transformation on sustainability for different types of cargo throughput, as well as the differential effects of policy impact on port production efficiency and economic performance in the short and long term, in order to examine the impact of digitalization on port operation performance. Our findings demonstrate that digital transformation has a significant positive impact on both port cargo and container throughput, with the long-term effect surpassing the short-term effect. Additionally, regional economic level positively moderates policy impact. These findings provide critical evidence that ports can balance economic growth and environmental sustainability within sustainable development frameworks.