Ocean carrier CMA CGM of France will re-flag more than two dozen ships under its home flag, a year after its chief executive appeared in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump unveiled plans to revive the American maritime sector.
The world’s third-largest carrier announced that 10 24,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) vessels will be registered under the French flag starting in 2026. The move will increase its home-registered fleet by 30%, to 40 ships.
Chief Executive Rodolphe Saade, whose family controls privately-held CMA CGM, appeared in the Oval Office in March 2025 when Trump announced a wide-ranging initiative to rejuvenate the domestic maritime sector. At the time Saade pledged investment of $20 billion over four years in U.S. shipping.
But as of February, the company, which has seven terminals at American ports, had spent only about $1 billion – all of it on terminals – at Bayonne, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, and nothing for new ships from U.S. shipyards. It has registered just one vessel under the U.S. flag.
The company also reported maritime revenue and profits declined in 2025 even as total container volume modestly improved.
Box traffic reached 24.2 million TEUs, up 2.8% year-on-year, while revenue declined 6.1% to $34.3 billion. Operating earnings (EBITDA) fell to $7.9 billion from $11.2 billion and EBITDA margin slipped 7.8 points to 23%, on average revenue per TEU off 8.7% to $1,414.
The company said results were affected by a global trade reset, geopolitical disruptions and excess vessel capacity.
Read more articles by Stuart Chirls here.
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