Beirut Port freight activity increased to around 427 thousand tons during the month of February 2024, up from 380 thousand tons in the previous month. On a cumulative basis, freight activity rose by 1.38% y-o-y during the first two months of 2024 to 807 thousand tons up from 796 thousand tons a year earlier. The number of vessels rose by 32.42% year-on-year to 241 in comparison with 182 a year earlier, while the number of imported cars contracted by more than 48% to 4,751 cars as people flocked in early 2023 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 116.529 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to February 2024 in comparison with a relatively similar cargo capacity of some 116.307 thousand TEUs a year earlier. Finally, it is worth pointing out that the Beirut Port generated revenues of $113.07 million in the full year 2023 up from $93.62 million a year earlier.