I'm not sure the way others are building their defenses, but I usually place the Starbase at the front of the defensive line. And I tend to group all structures fairly close together, almost always close to the planet.

Any created craft from the TEC Starbase leaves the Starbase from the "rear" or the the direction facing the center of the grav well. This means that any ships produced from the Starbase gets pushed out towards the mess of structures behind the Starbase, such as Trade Ports and Repair Platforms. This creates a traffic jam, or in the least leaves the new ships struggling to maneuver between the other structures.

I think it would make more sense for these ships to exit away from the gravity well, like Frigate Factories/Capital Ship Factories. It would ease congestion and make the ships better able to respond after construction.