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The Compagnie maritime d'affrètement - Compagnie générale maritime or CMA CGM is a French
shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...
and
logistics Logistics is the part of supply chain management that deals with the efficient forward and reverse flow of goods, services, and related information from the point of origin to the Consumption (economics), point of consumption according to the ...
company founded in 1978 by Jacques Saadé. The name is an
acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...
of two predecessor companies, Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM), translating as "Maritime Freighting Company" and "General Maritime Company", respectively. The company is headquartered at the CMA CGM Tower in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France, and is the third largest container shipping company in the world. The company's 2024 annual revenue was US$55.48
billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: * 1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is now the most common sense of the word in all varieties of ...
. CMA CGM business activities include shipping, port operation,
supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management, logistics and marketing channels, through which raw materials can be developed into finished produc ...
and
warehousing A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
, with a presence in 160 countries through 400 offices, 750 warehouses, 155,000 employees and a wide fleet of 593 vessels. CMA CGM serves 420 of the world's 521 commercial ports and operates 257 shipping lines.


History

The history of CMA CGM can be traced back to the middle of the 19th century, when two major French shipping lines were created, respectively Messageries Maritimes (MM) in 1851 and Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) in 1855, soon renamed Compagnie Générale Transatlantique in 1861. Both companies were created partly with the backing of the French State, through the award of mail contracts to various destinations, French colonies and overseas territories as well as foreign countries. After the two World Wars, the two companies became "State owned corporations of the competitive sector" (''Entreprise publique du secteur concurrentiel''), i.e., companies that, while owned by the State, were run as private for-profit businesses operating in competitive markets. The French government, under President
Valéry Giscard d'Estaing Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, ; ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as simply Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Ministry of the Economy ...
and Prime Minister
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
, progressively merged the two companies between 1974 and 1977 to form Compagnie Générale Maritime, which was still owned by the French government and still run as a competitive business, although sometimes subject to political pressure, for instance on the selection of shipyards to build new ships. Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) operated as such from 1974 to 1996 when it was privatized by the French state under President Chirac and Prime Minister
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the c ...
. During these 22 years it operated freight and container liner services in various global trade lanes, as well as a fleet of dry bulk ships, and a few large oil tankers and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers, with headquarters located in Paris' western suburbs, first in Paris- La Defense, then in close by
Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western inner suburbs of Paris, France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,482 as of 2020. Suresnes borders the Bois de Boulogne in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, ...
. The CGM liner services, mostly containerized but also operating a significant fleet of "Con-Ro" vessels able to load roll-on/roll-off cargoes, were re-structured from the two parent companies' main trade lanes, i.e. Western trade lanes (Americas) for Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) and Eastern trade lanes (Asia, East Africa, Pacific, plus Eastern South America) for Messageries Maritimes (MM). After the merger and re-structure, CGM's liner services were managed in four distinct Trade Divisions, North America & Far East (AMNEO, for Amérique du Nord & Extrême Orient) which also managed the bulk and tanker fleets, South America & Caribbean (AMLAT), Pacific & Indian Ocean (PACOI) and Short Sea Trades (Cabotage). Separately, Jacques Saadé had created CMA in 1978 as an intra-Mediterranean liner service operator, based in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
. In 1996, CGM was privatized and sold to Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA) to form CMA CGM. In 1998 the combined company purchased Australian National Line. In September 2005, CMA CGM acquired its French rival Delmas based in
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
from the Bolloré Group for €600 million. The acquisition was completed in early January 5, 2006. The resulting corporation became the third largest container company in the world behind the Danish
Maersk (), usually known simply as Maersk ( ), is a Danish Freight transport, shipping and logistics company founded in 1904 by Arnold Peter Møller and his father Peter Mærsk Møller. Maersk's business activities include Port operator, port operat ...
and the Swiss Mediterranean Shipping Company In May 2007, a consortium represented by CMA CGM completed its acquisition of Compagnie Marocaine de Navigation (Comanav) for a sum of €200 million. In July 2007, CMA CGM acquired Cheng Lie Navigation Corp. (CNC Line), Intra-Asia container line based in Taiwan. In 2014, CMA CGM signs the Ocean Three agreements. The group strengthens its offer by signing major agreements on the biggest worldwide maritime trades with CSCL and UASC. In April 2015, the group acquired a strategic stake in LCL Logistix, a logistics leader in India, via its subsidiary CMA CGM LOG. In December 2015, CMA CGM ''Benjamin Franklin'' called at the
Port of Los Angeles The Port of Los Angeles is a seaport managed by the Los Angeles Harbor Department, a unit of the Los Angeles, City of Los Angeles. It occupies of land and water with of waterfront and adjoins the separate Port of Long Beach. Promoted as "Amer ...
and thus became the largest vessel ever to call the United States. The container-ship, long and wide, was inaugurated in Port of Long Beach on February 19. In July 2016 CMA CGM finalized its acquisition of Singapore-based NOL (Neptune Orient Lines) and its container line APL (American President Lines) after an all-cash offer of US$2.4 billion. The takeover is CMA CGM's largest acquisition and the purchase added 12 percent market share to the CMA CGM group. The Singapore Exchange Securities Trading suspended trading of NOL shares at the end of the offer. In June 2017, CMA CGM acquire Mercosul Line, a Brazilian shipping company specialized in multimodal door-to-door container transportation and logistics. In October 2018, CMA CGM finalized the acquisition of Finland-based container-transportation and logistics company Containerships. In April 2019, CMA CGM completed its public tender offer to acquire CEVA Logistics. With this acquisition, the CMA CGM Group becomes a global leader in transport and logistics, 110,000 people strong with more than $30.3 billion in revenue. CEVA operational center is transferred in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
, France, where is located the Head Office of the CMA CGM Group. In February 2021, CMA CGM Group completes its logistics offer by creating a new division dedicated to air freight: CMA CGM Air Cargo. With its four Airbus A330-200F cargo aircraft, this airfreight division links Europe to North America. The first flight from
Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...
to Chicago marks the debut of commercial operations. In September 2021, CMA CGM announced a partnership with fellow Breton-based operator Brittany Ferries. The partnership involves a €25 million investment, plus a CMA CGM representative joining Brittany Ferries' supervisory board. In May 2022, CMA CGM signed a strategic partnership with Air France-KLM to develop their air cargo capacities together. However, this partnership, implemented in April 2023, was terminated by mutual agreement in January 2024 without change in the 9% stake acquired by CMA CGM in the Franco-Dutch airline group. In January 2024, CMA CGM made a takeover offer for Wincanton plc. In March 2024 CMA CGM withdrew the offer.


Ownership

CMA CGM is 73% owned by Rodolphe Saadé and his family through Merit France SAS. The Turkish family-owned company Yildirim Holding has a 24% stake and French public sector investment bank Bpifrance has a 3% holding.


Subsidiaries


Maritime activities

* Australian National Line (ANL) (specializes in Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and Asia container transportation) * Compagnie Marocaine de Navigation (Comanav) (passenger ferry and container services from Morocco to Europe) * Cheng Lie Navigation Corp. (CNC Line) (specializes in Intra-Asia container transportation) *Mercosul Line (specializes on the East Coast of South America container transportation) * Containerships (specializes in Intra-European container transportation) * American President Lines (APL) (
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
-based container line)


Terminal activities

* CMA Terminals Holding * Terminal Link - container terminals developer and operator, ranked N°12 worldwide


Intermodal activities and logistics

* Progeco (container: sales, leasing & repairing) * CMA CGM Logistics * Rail Link (multimodal rail transport) * River Shuttle Containers (Rhône – Saône axis containerised river transportation) * Kingston Freeport Terminal LTD (Jamaican Transhipment Hub)


Support activities

* CMA Ships (a wholly-owned subsidiary managing all fleet-related operations)


Air services

* CMA CGM Air Cargo, active since February 2021, operates a total of 4 Airbus A330-200Fs and 2 Boeing 777Fs.


Joint ventures

* CMA Systems, a business entity in partnership with
IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...
involving development of new technologies like the
cloud computing Cloud computing is "a paradigm for enabling network access to a scalable and elastic pool of shareable physical or virtual resources with self-service provisioning and administration on-demand," according to International Organization for ...
. * Terminal Link, a joint venture between CMA CGM (51%) and China Merchants Port (49%).


Fleet

In 2023, CMA CGM's fleet included: * 593 vessels * 4,500,000 container TEUs * 600,000 reefer container TEUs The fleet has 200 maritime services and calls at more than 420 ports in 160 countries. There are 521 commercial ports in the world at the moment. Some emblematic group's vessels are: * (16,020 TEUs) was christened in June 2013 by the French President François Hollande. At that time, this vessel sailing under the French flag was the world's biggest container ship. * (16,020 TEUs) * (16,020 TEUs) * (18,000 TEUs) * (18,000 TEUs) * (18,000 TEUs) * ''CMA CGM Georg Forster'' (18,000 TEUs) * (18,000 TEUs) * (18,000 TEUs) * (20,800 TEUs) * (23,112 TEUs); flagship and largest French-flagged container ship as of 2023


Air fleet


Sponsoring

Since 2022, CMA CGM is the main sponsor of Olympique Marseille, the major
football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...
of the city where the company is headquartered.


Accidents and incidents

On April 4, 2008, pirates seized the CMA CGM luxury cruise ship '' Le Ponant'' off the coast of Somalia. CMA CGM and its affiliates have been implicated in various arms-shipping incidents. * November 2009: South Africa seized arms traveling from North Korea by way of China. The seizure amounted to two containers filled with tank parts and other military equipment from North Korea, which included "gun sights, tracks and other spare parts for T-54 and T-55 tanks and other war material valued at an estimated $750,000." The military equipment was concealed in containers lined with sacks of rice and shipping documents identified the cargo as spare parts for a "bulldozer". According to the report, the containers were originally loaded in
Dalian Dalian ( ) is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China (after Shenyang ...
, China onto CMA CGM ''Musca'', a UK-flagged container ship. The shipment was reportedly destined for Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. * July 2009: The United Arab Emirates seized a shipment of weapons from North Korea destined for Iran. The shipment was made in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1874, which bans all North Korean Arms exports. The weapons, which included RPGs, detonators, ammunition, and rocket propellant, were shipped by a Bahamian-flagged vessel of ANL Australia, a wholly owned subsidiary of CMA CGM. * October 2010: Nigerian authorities seized 13 shipping containers carrying illegal Iranian weaponry at Lagos' Apapa Port. The containers included 107 mm artillery rockets ( Katyushas), explosives and rifle ammunition. The arms were to be shipped next to
The Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...
, with the final destination of the cargo possibly the
Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...
. MV CMA CGM ''Everest'' originally picked up the containers from the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. CMA CGM said it was the victim of a false cargo declaration, claiming the weapons were shipped in packages labeled as "glass wool and pallets of stone" and that the Iranian shipper "does not appear on any forbidden persons listing". * March 2011: Israeli forces intercepted the vessel ''Victoria'' in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea, stating that it was carrying weapons by Iran via Syria. According to Israeli officials, the arms shipments included "roughly 2,500 mortar shells, nearly 75,000 bullets and six C-704 anti-ship missiles". Israel said the ultimate destination of the cargo was for the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. CMA CGM, which chartered the vessel, stated, "The ship's manifests do not show any cargo in contravention finternational regulations, and we do not have any more information at this stage." As a result of CMA CGM's involvement in Iranian weapons smuggling, US congressmen have called on CMA CGM to be investigated and urged the US Treasury Department to consider levying sanctions against the shipper. The company has since implemented tighter procedures for accepting shipments bound for Iran, including scanning all containers destined for the country. CMA CGM has also ceased exporting from Iranian ports since November 2011.


''CMA CGM Centaurus''

On 4 May 2017, the
container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
''CMA CGM Centaurus'' made heavy contact with the quay and two shore cranes while under pilotage during its arrival at Jebel Ali,
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...
. The accident resulted in the collapse of a shore crane and 10 injuries to shore personnel.


''CMA CGM Washington''

On 20 January 2018, the container ship ''CMA CGM Washington'' was on-route to
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, US, from
Xiamen Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
,
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, when it experienced heavy waves in the North
Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...
. The crew discovered that three bays, 54, 58 and 18, collapsed, which led to the loss of 137 containers and damage of another 85.


''CMA CGM Norma''

On 24 December 2018, the container ship ''CMA CGM Norma'' was involved in a collision with the China-flagged general
cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...
''Yusheng366'' in the waters south of
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
. All the crew from ''Yusheng366'' were rescued as they abandoned ship before she sank, while ''CMA CGM Norma'' suffered minor damages.


''CMA CGM Rabelais''

On 6 April 2022, a fire broke out in a container on the ship's deck on the 6,552 TEU ''CMA CGM Rabelais''. The vessel was en route to Nhava Sheva,
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, after departing Singapore and was navigating the Malacca Straits, some 100km north-west of Port Klang, when the fire was discovered at about noon, local time. A spokesperson for vessel owner Danaos Corporation, said the master had “immediately implemented firefighting protocols” and emphasised that "the fire is still burning, but it is under control.” One crew member was injured during the firefighting operations, when he slipped and fell, breaking some ribs.


''APL Vanda''

On 3 July 2022, the Singaporean-flagged container ship APL Vanda was on-route between
Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...
and
Suez Suez (, , , ) is a Port#Seaport, seaport city with a population of about 800,000 in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez on the Red Sea, near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal. It is the capital and largest c ...
as part of CMA CGM's Asia - North-Europe Fal 3 service, when it lost 55 loaded containers in the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...
whilst the vessel was facing heavy weather, just before entry to the
Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden (; ) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, the Socotra Archipelago, Puntland in Somalia and Somaliland to the south. ...
according to CMA CGM. No injury was reported and all crew members were safe. The ship, which left Singapore on June 26, stopped on July 9 in
Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...
"to clear some damaged containers on deck before safely continuing its voyage."


''CMA CGM Symi''

On 25 November 2023, US defense officials reported that the ship was targeted in a suspected Iranian drone attack while in the Indian Ocean, en route from Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates to Port Klang, Malaysia. The ship has an Israeli owner and the incident happened a short time before the 2023 Gaza war ceasefire.


See also

*
List of largest container shipping companies Several Shipping line, shipping lines are involved in intermodal freight transport as part of international trade. List of largest container shipping companies This is a list of the 30 largest Container ship, container shipping companies as of M ...


References


External links


CMA-CGM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cma Cgm Compagnie Générale Transatlantique Port operating companies Container shipping companies Shipping companies of France French brands Companies based in Marseille Transport companies established in 1978 French companies established in 1978 1996 mergers and acquisitions