Beirut Port freight activity increased to around 486 thousand tons during the month of December 2023, up from 408 thousand tons in the previous month. Freight activity rose by 6.61% in the full year 2023 to 5,421 thousand tons up from 5,086 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose by 14.92% year-on-year to 1,371 in comparison with 1,193 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars added 10,458 cars to reach 52,600 cars as people flocked to buying cars ahead of any increases in the applicable exchange rate when calculating custom fees. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 827.689 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) in 2023 in comparison with a cargo capacity of some 715.099 thousand TEUs during the year 2022.