Beirut Port freight activity rose to around 480 thousand tons during the month of August 2023, up from 453 thousand tons in the previous month. Moreover, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 2.76% y-o-y to 3,483 thousand tons during the first eight months of 2023 up from 3,390 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose to 894 in comparison with 776 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars rose markedly to 38,959 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 562.811 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to August 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 466.009 thousand TEUs during the same period last year.