Beirut Port freight activity contracted to around 402 thousand tons during the month of December 2022, down from 415 thousand tons in the previous month. On the other hand, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 9.09% in the year 2022 to reach 5,069 thousand tons, up from 4,646 thousand tons in 2021. Similarly, the number of vessels rose by 2.14% year-on-year to 1,193 and the number of imported cars increased by 68.08% (17,070 cars) to 42,142 as people flocked to buying cars in anticipation of a potential adjustment in custom fees. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 715.10 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) in 2022 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 614.99 thousand TEUs in 2021.