Beirut Port freight activity expanded to around 472 thousand tons during the month of March 2023, up from 437 thousand tons in the previous month. Moreover, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 0.90% y-o-y to 1,286 thousand tons during the first quarter of 2023 up from 1,256 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose to 306 in comparison with 283 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars more than doubled to 14,556 as people flocked to buying cars ahead of any increases in the applicable exchange rate for calculating customs rates. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 180.414 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to March 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 162.078 thousand TEUs during the same period last year.