Beirut Port freight activity slowed to around 373 thousand tons during the month of November 2024, down from 490 thousand tons in the previous month. On a cumulative basis, freight activity rose by 0.66% y-o-y during the first eleven months of 2024 to 4,968 thousand tons up from 4,935 thousand tons in the same period in 2023. The number of vessels increased by 7.91% year-on-year to 1,351 in comparison with 1,252 in the first eleven months of 2023, while the number of imported cars contracted by 20.01% to 41,135 cars as people flocked in early 2023 to buying cars ahead of any increases in the applicable exchange rate on custom fees. In a related context, the Beirut port handled containers with a total cargo capacity of around 700,974 thousand TEUs (including transshipments) up to November 2024 in comparison with a higher cargo capacity of some 757,336 thousand TEUs in the same period in 2023.