(Updated March 22, 2025 at 11:30 p.m. ET)
France-based container shipping and logistic giant CMA CGM Group on Thursday announced it will invest $20 billion over four years in its U.S.-flag fleet, port terminals, an air cargo airline based in Chicago and warehouses to align with President Donald Trump’s goal of increasing America’s domestic shipbuilding and maritime transportation capacity.
“I am proud to build on our long-standing relationship with the United States through this commitment of $20 billion to the country’s maritime future and logistics capabilities. Over the next four years, we will significantly grow our U.S.-flagged fleet, expand the capacity of key container ports on both coasts, develop state-of-the-art warehousing across the country, and establish a significant air cargo hub in Chicago,” said CMA CGM Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saadé in a news release. “This will create 10,000 new American jobs and further strengthen our partnership with American customers and public authorities.”
Saadé met with Trump in the Oval Office in Thursday, where he said CMA CGM plans to triple the size of its U.S.-flag fleet from 10 to 30 vessels and will soon announce further investment in U.S. shipbuilding capacity. The investment includes $8 billion for containerships, $7 billion for logistics, $4 billion for ports and $1 billion for air cargo, he told the Wall Street Journal.
Trump recently declared his intention to reinvigorate the U.S. shipbuilding industry and the merchant maritime sector to compete with China and strengthen the military industrial base. Trump sided with union dockworkers in their tense contract negotiations with maritime employers that operate U.S. port terminals, calling out foreign shipping lines for making huge profits from access to U.S. ports. A strike was averted in January when the International Longshoremen’s Association agreed to deal with terminal operators.
“I’d rather see these foreign companies spend [profits] on the great men and women on our docks, than machinery, which is expensive, and which will constantly have to be replaced,” he wrote on his social media site Truth Social. “In the end, there’s no gain for them, and I hope that they will understand how important an issue this is for me.”
CMA CGM said it will help rebuild American maritime capabilities through a series of investments, including 20 more vessels for U.S. subsidiary American President Lines. Saadé suggested in his Oval Office comments that some vessels could come from new construction in the United States, but that capacity is currently very limited. He told the Journal that the ships most likely will be built in South Korean shipyards. APL provides ocean transportation and in-country logistics to the U.S. government and military. It is incorporated in the United States and operates military-useful commercial vessels with U.S. mariners. The French carrier said it will also train and hire more American crew members to operate the new vessels.
In addition, the company promised to develop its existing port infrastructure in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami and Dutch Harbor, Alaska, to improve efficiency and container throughput. It’s unclear if the investments involve physical expansion or container equipment. A news release said the money will accelerate installation of digital technologies and help improve safety for port workers and cargo. CMA CGM controls two container terminals at the Port of New York and New Jersey and a large terminal at the Port of Los Angeles.
Whether the investments fully materialize is an open questions as many companies in the past have made announcements as olive branches to inoculate themselves from any potential vendetta from displeasing President Trump. Stephanie Loomis, a veteran ocean shipping for major logistics providers, called the move a “gesture.” Speaking on the Freight Buyers’ Club podcast after the announcement she said, “it takes three years to build a vessel. I’m hard pressed to think CMA CGM is really going to pay four times as much for a vessel it could get somewhere else.”
Air cargo and warehousing
As part of the investment, CMA CGM’s cargo airline division will open an air cargo hub in Chicago and deploy five new American-made Boeing 777 freighter aircraft, operated by American pilots, to add capacity on key trade lanes. CMA CGM Air Cargo currently operates three Boeing 777s and one Airbus A330. It launched trans-Pacific service with one Boeing 777, operated by Atlas Air, in the fall. The other aircraft between Europe and China/Hong Kong.
The freight transportation conglomerate, which owns Ceva Logistics and Bollare Logistics, also said it will secure warehousing and automotive logistics platforms across the United States to provide more supply chain capabilities for customers.
The company also will open a new logistics R&D hub in Boston, in partnership with American technology partners, focused on advanced robotics and automation solutions that can further optimize logistics services.
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Write to Eric Kulisch at ekulisch@freightwaves.com.
