The figures released by the Port of Beirut (PoB) revealed an annual slump of 37.97% in the Port’s revenues which settled at $7.67M by January 2021, compared to last year’s $12.37M.
In details, Total container activity including transshipment (TEU+TS) fell by a yearly 45.35% to stand at 44,313 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU), with Container activity (TEU) alone declining by 0.77% year-on-year (YOY) to 34,512 TEU by January 2021. In its turn, Transshipment activity (TS) plunged by 78.83% YOY to 9,801 TEU over the same period.
Accordingly, the transshipment volume of CMA CGM, one of the two major shipping lines operating at the Port of Beirut, fell by 42.13% YOY to 7,695 TEU. Similarly the transshipment activity of MSC decreased by 94.22% YOY to 1,214 TEU by January 2021. In addition, the local volume of CMA CGM rose by 82.75% to 12,610 TEU, while the MSC local volume decreased by 36.71% to 7,269 TEU.
It’s worth mentioning, that some German and French companies are vying to lead reconstruction efforts of the Port of Beirut. However, we don’t expect that those companies will invest in this project until Lebanon’s political elite first agree on the make-up of a new government to fix public finances and root out corruption, in addition to a reform program with the IMF.
Port of Beirut Revenues by January ($)
