Around the Port of Beirut and the smaller coastal and bonded terminals, the truck that actually moves the freight is rarely the headline tractor. It is the 4×2 cargo truck that shuttles containers and break-bulk from the quay to the warehouse, runs the last mile into the city, and carries construction material back out. For a Lebanese operator the question is not “which flagship tractor” but “which dependable 22-tonne box chassis do I buy two or three of.”

This article covers one scenario — Port & Container Transport in Lebanon — and two near-identical trucks: the FOTON EST-M 22T (listing 20260713197) and the Foton Aumark EST-M 22T (listing 20260710196). They share a chassis, engine and transmission; they differ in cab style and price. Every figure is from the two listings. One honest caveat up front: neither is a tractor, so neither tows a loaded 40-foot container on a fifth wheel — they are box and platform trucks for terminal cartage and distribution, and that is how this article treats them.

1. The shared powertrain: a 6.7-litre Cummins and an eight-speed

Both listings specify a Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7 (engine model ISDe245 30), 6,700 cc, rated 180 kW with 950 Nm of torque. The transmission on both is a Shaanxi Fast 8JS105TA eight-speed manual (F-8MT), behind a 4.875 final drive. That is a proven, repairable combination: plenty of low-end for a loaded launch out of a terminal gate, and a tall enough top for the flat coastal runs. Neither listing shows an automated gearbox, so both are manual — fine for experienced drivers, a consideration if your pool is short of them.

GVW is 22,000 kg on both, with a 5.5-tonne front axle and a 10-tonne rear axle. The cargo-body internal dimensions are identical at 6,500 × 2,400 × 600 mm — a 6.5-metre platform base, not a closed van, so your bodybuilder adds the box, curtain-side or flatbed. Fuel is a single 200-litre tank, tyres are 10.00R20 tube-type radials on seven wheels, and both are left-hand drive with ABS and air brakes.

2. Where the two trucks actually differ

The mechanical spec is the same; the difference is the cab and the price. Listing 20260713197 is described as a “High-Roof 180hp” with a half sleeper cab and a standard roof; listing 20260710196 is an extended cab (row-and-a-half) with a flat roof. The half-sleeper gives the driver a lie-flat space for rest breaks on longer port-to-inland runs; the row-and-a-half gives a proper second seat and a rear shelf for a two-person crew doing city distribution. Price is $27,000 for the sleeper-cab version and $27,500 for the extended-cab version — a $500 gap for the different cab architecture.

3. The honest limit: this is cartage, not container towing

Both trucks are 4×2 cargo chassis at 22 tonnes GVW. They are excellent for moving boxes, pallets and loose freight between the port, the bonded warehouse and the customer — but they are not tractors and they do not pull a loaded shipping container on a fifth wheel. If your “Port & Container Transport” need is genuinely container chassis work (a tri-axle skeleton trailer with a 30- or 40-foot box), you need a 6×4 tractor, and neither of these is it. Buy these for terminal cartage, city distribution and construction-material delivery, and keep a separate tractor in the fleet for the box moves.

4. Euro III and the registration check

Both are declared Euro III. Whether Euro III clears Lebanese first registration, and whether local diesel suits the calibration, is for your import authority to confirm — do it before you commit, because it is the single most common surprise at registration. Both listings are written for left-hand drive and carry the same announcement model (BJ1226VMPHG-1), so there is no region mismatch to resolve beyond the standard confirmation of spec on the unit you receive.

Cargo Truck · Lebanon

FOTON EST-M 22T 4×2 — half sleeper, $27,000

Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7, 6,700 cc · 180 kW / 950 Nm · Fast 8JS105TA 8-speed · final drive 4.875 · GVW 22,000 kg · Euro III · LHD

Listed at $27,000 · Port cartage and distribution

View full specification →

Cargo Truck · Lebanon

Foton Aumark EST-M 22T 4×2 — row-and-a-half, $27,500

Dongfeng Cummins ISD6.7, 6,700 cc · 180 kW / 950 Nm · Fast 8JS105TA 8-speed · final drive 4.875 · GVW 22,000 kg · Euro III · LHD

Listed at $27,500 · City distribution, two-person crew

View full specification →

5. Bodybuilding: what you actually order

Because both trucks list a 600 mm platform base rather than a finished van, the body is a separate purchase you must specify. For port cartage and distribution the usual choices are a closed box for secure freight, a curtain-side for fast pallet loading, or a flatbed for irregular loads. The 6,500 mm length and 2,400 mm width give a large floor, but remember the body itself adds tare weight against the 22,000 kg GVW, so the realistic payload after cab, fuel and body is roughly 12–14 tonnes. Decide the body type, the floor rating, the tail-lift if any, and the paint, then price it as its own line — do not assume it is included in the listed truck price.

For the half-sleeper version, confirm the body does not block cab access or the rear storage; for the row-and-a-half version, the same applies to the second seat. The announcement model BJ1226VMPHG-1 is the chassis identifier your bodybuilder should reference, so the mounting points and the 4,800 mm wheelbase line up with the superstructure. One more body point: if your freight is temperature-sensitive or valuable, specify the insulation and lockable doors at the build stage rather than retrofitting — the chassis price is the start, not the finish, of the vehicle you actually operate.

6. Tyres, tank and daily operation

Both trucks run 10.00R20 tube-type radials on seven wheels as standard, with tubeless 11R22.5, 275/80R22.5 and 295/80R22.5 offered as options. For terminal and city work on mostly sealed roads, the tubeless options are worth taking: a roadside repair is faster and the higher-speed rating suits the coastal straights. Fuel is a single 200-litre tank, ample for a full shift of short hauls without refuelling. ABS and air brakes are standard, fade-resistant on the grades out of the port hills, and the left-hand-drive layout matches local traffic.

Daily uptime comes down to the boring things: a simple, common Fast eight-speed, a 250 mm-section frame, and leaf-spring suspension any competent workshop can repair. Neither truck is exotic, which is exactly why a pair of them is easy to standardise a fleet around — one spares pool, one service routine, two cab styles to suit the duty. Driver ergonomics differ between the two: the half-sleeper gives a rest space for the longer port-to-inland leg, the row-and-a-half gives a proper second seat for a mate on city runs. Pick to the duty, not to the badge, and the $500 gap between them is easy to justify either way.

Axle-load law and the road reality in Lebanon

Lebanon applies axle-load limits on a Middle Eastern / Mediterranean pattern — a single-axle limit around 13 t, a tandem near 24 t and gross combination weight near 44 t — enforced by the Traffic Management Center. Beirut is a trans-shipment gateway, but the economy has been through a long crisis. The practical catch is that the fuel and currency crunch means acquisition cost and parts availability decide the deal. The core business is port, bonded-warehouse and distribution freight, and a truck that is cheap to buy but expensive to run spends more of its life parked than earning.

For a container tractor the real exposure is the Beirut access road: an overweight box scaled at the gate is offloaded on the spot, and there is no cheap way to recover it from the port road.

What Lebanese fleets already run

In Lebanon the reference vehicle is a used Japanese truck — Isuzu, Hino and Mitsubishi Fuso dominate the second-hand market — with European brands in the premium segment, Sinotruk Howo and Shacman as the main Chinese competition, and a large gray-market used fleet in some markets. The used Japanese truck wins on parts density but loses on age and the rebuild cost that lands within a couple of years. The new Chinese truck wins on warranty and a clean bill of health. Foton’s pitch is the middle ground.

7. Pre-order checklist

Confirm Euro III registration. Verify with your import authority that both Euro III trucks can be registered, and that local diesel suits the calibration.

Be clear these are not tractors. If you need to pull loaded shipping containers on a chassis, buy a 6×4 tractor separately; these are cartage and distribution box trucks.

Pick the cab to the duty. Half sleeper ($27,000) for rest on longer runs; row-and-a-half ($27,500) for a two-person city crew. The $500 gap is the cab, not the mechanics.

Specify the body. Both list a 600 mm platform base, not a van. Decide box / curtain-side / flatbed and price it as a separate line.

The two EST-M 22T listings are mechanically identical trucks separated only by cab style and a $500 price gap, which makes them an easy pair to standardise a Lebanese port-and-distribution fleet around. The prices shown are the published listing figures and a starting point for enquiry only — bodywork, freight and duties are additional. Confirm the Euro III point in writing, choose the cab, then work back to your landed cost.