CMA CGM Group, a global leader in sea, land, air, and logistics solutions, and owner of the U.S. flag carrier American President Lines (APL), has officially raised a sum of $20 billion investment to support U.S. maritime sovereignty, as well as facilitate the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain over the next four years.
Talk about how the company plans on deploying these newly-raised funds, it will expand its US-flagged fleet and maritime jobs to enhance shipbuilding.
Focused on aligning itself with U.S. Administration’s recently-announced priority to strengthen American shipbuilding capabilities, the CGM Group will scale up APL’s U.S. flag capacity and enhance maritime resources with new technologies. The idea here is to strengthen APL’s position as the leading carrier for U.S. government cargo transportation, while simultaneously ensuring safe, open, and reliable access to the oceans necessary for promoting America’s economic and national security ambition.
Next up, it will try and broaden the assortment of container ports on the East and West coasts. Furthermore, the company will develop port infrastructure in key locations across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Dutch Harbor, Houston, and Miami. These investments will, in essence, contribute towards efficient operations and supply chains, accelerated digitization and improved connectivity, along with increased safety for port workers and cargo.
Another detail worth a mention here is rooted in CMA’s plan to open up state-of-the-art warehouses and an automotive logistics platform. Having such an infrastructure in place should help the company achieve reliability of domestic supply chain and advance U.S. leadership in logistics.
Hold on, there is more, considering we haven’t yet touched upon the CMA’s a full-fledged air cargo hub in Chicago. Across this hub, the group will deploy five new Boeing 777 freighters, operated by American pilots, to strengthen U.S. trade and connectivity, all for ensuring reliable transport of critical and time-sensitive goods.
Not just that, the company will also open a new logistics R&D hub in Boston which is going to focus on advanced robotics and automation solutions. More on that would reveal how the stated hub will be developed in collaboration with leading American technology partners, each one chipping to optimize logistics services, and at the same time, ensure best service quality for CMA’s American customers.
“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. This will create 10,000 new American jobs and further strengthen our partnership with American customers and public authorities,” said Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group.
Founded in 1978, CMA Group’s rise up the ranks stems from providing a bleeding-edge assortment of sea, land, air and logistics solutions. Understood to be the world’s 3rd largest shipping company, the organization presently serves more than 420 ports across 5 continents with a fleet of over 650 vessels.
In fact, during 2024 alone, CMA CGM carried over 23 million TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) containers.
