Dry port construction facilitates intermodal freight transport in the import and export corridors, especially for landlocked countries. Selecting the optimal locations for dry ports is a crucial component of national planning. In this study, multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) combined with GIS was used to map suitable sites for dry ports. Essential criteria for selecting optimum dry port locations were identified from the literature and a Simple Multi-Attribute Ranking Technique (SMART) was used for expert weighting these criteria. The results revealed that distance from road and distance from railway are the two most important criteria, while distance from a seaport is the least important. Application of the method to identify optimal dry port locations in Ethiopia showed that most of its territory is moderately suitable for dry port location. However, most of the existing dry ports in the region are found to lie within the highly suitable areas. Overall, the suitability map developed in this study provides a rich basis of information for future sustainable dry port investments.

The present study assesses the level of digital technology adoption in the inter-modal freight transport system, with the case study of Ethiopia. To achieve the objectives, we utilized questionnaires and conducted site visits to the companies involved. The results show that all the companies have an equally high level of fundamental technology adoption. However, the use of advanced information and communication technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things, is limited. Ethiopian's railway transport company uses up-to-date technologies (such as real-time tracking and communication with drivers), whereas road transport companies widely use conventional technologies (such as phone calls) in providing transport services. To increase the level of digital technology adoption, and thus the overall efficiency of the intermodal transport systems, the study revealed a need for investment in human resources, encompassing awareness creation and IT skills training, in parallel to investments in the actual technologies.

Performance evaluation in logistics is crucial in identifying improvement opportunities. This study assessed performance indicators (PIs) for import–export logistics chains, including transport, dry ports, transhipment and warehouses, focusing on Ethiopia. PIs were identified by means of a literature review. An expert survey based on the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used to obtain weightings for the indicators to allow an evaluation of the overall performance of the country’s import–export chains. Key challenges faced in the sector were also identified. Indicators such as turnaround time and damage frequency were given high weightings by experts for dry port PIs, security was given the highest weighting for transport PIs, and order lead time was given the highest weighting for warehouse PIs. Technological advancements, human resource capacity building and government policies were found to be the main areas that could improve the performance of logistics operations and address the challenges faced by the sector. These findings could provide a new and comprehensive picture of the key performance indicators of Ethiopian import–export logistics chains.