Beirut port revenues at highest level in 5 years

Port of Beirut revenues reached $100.52 million so far this year, the best cumulative figure recorded in the past five years. This represented an increase of 8.68 percent over last year’s revenues of $92.49 million. The total container activity at Port of Beirut jumped 4.25 percent by July to reach 610,751 20-foot equivalent units, a unit for measuring freight containers, compared to 585,859 TEU in 2011. Shipping at the port saw an increase in both its components: trade for the local market increased by 6.46 percent to 362,432 TEU; the transshipment activity increased by 1.18 percent to 248,319. An increase was also recorded for imported and exported merchandise, which were up 9.22 percent by the end of July to 4.14 million tons, hitting a five-year monthly high in July at 635,000 tons. Demand for cars also picked up this year after the slowdown of 2011. Total imported cars during the first seven months tallied 48,272 compared to 38,425 last year, but still less than the 2009 and 2010 levels. The number of docked vessels fell 3.9 percent. July was the first month to see an improvement compared to the same month of last year. Previously July has witnessed a drop in activity. From DailyStar