In the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, activity at the Port of Beirut (PoB) dropped, with the port’s revenues recording a 16.17% annual decline to stand at $49.80M.
As such, total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) recorded a yearly decrease of 7.28% to reach 292,878 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) by March 2019. In details, container activity excluding transshipment slumped by a yearly 12.38% to 184,293 TEU, while transshipment activity alone recorded an uptick by an annual 0.74% to 106,342 TEU in Q1 2019.
Of the two major shipping/logistic firms operating at the port, MSC and CMA CGM, MSC witnessed a drop of 11.34% year-on-year (y-o-y) to 54,511 TEU in transshipment activity. Whereas at CMA CGM, transshipment activity contracted by 33.99% y-o-y in the first three months of 2019 to end the quarter at 25,515 TEU.
In addition, the total volume of imported and exported merchandise declined by an annual 14.28% to 1766 tons and the number of imported cars also slid by a yearly 26.68% to 14,629. The number of ships docking at PoB fell from 471 by March 2018 to 411 by March 2019.
Annual PoB Revenues in Q1 (in $M)
Source: Port of Beirut