Beirut Port freight activity dropped to around 466 thousand tons during the month of September 2023, down from 480 thousand tons in the previous month. However, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 2.68% y-o-y to 3,949 thousand tons during the first nine months of 2023 up from 3,846 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose to 1,016 in comparison with 877 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars rose markedly to 42,164 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 621.781 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to September 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 529.826 thousand TEUs during the same period last year.