Beirut Port freight activity dropped to around 408 thousand tons during the month of November 2023, down from 577 thousand tons in the previous month. However, and on a cumulative basis, freight activity increased by 5.61% y-o-y to 4,935 thousand tons during the first eleven months of 2023 up from 4,673 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose by 15.71% year-on-year to 1,252 in comparison with 1,082 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars added 18,207 cars to reach 51,423 cars as people flocked to buying cars ahead of any increases in the applicable exchange rate when calculating customs fees. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 757.336 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to November 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 654.344 thousand TEUs during the same period in 2022.