CMA CGM Group has announced a $20 billion investment to contribute to U.S. maritime economy and support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain over the next four years.
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of CMA CGM, met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House on March 6, local time, pledging major investments in the U.S. maritime and shipbuilding industries.
Rodolphe Saadé said at the White House, “We are also considering investing in container ships in the United States. We also want to increase the number of U.S.-flagged ships from 10 to 30.” For his part, Trump said he would announce a new program to build ships in the U.S. next week or the week after, and that the plan would include incentives.
The announcement builds on CMA CGM Group’s 35-year presence in the U.S. Today, the Group operates in 40 states and employs 15,000 Americans. As a leading partner in U.S. trade, CMA CGM transports over 5 million shipping containers to and from the country each year. This strategic commitment will foster U.S. shipbuilding capabilities, expand port infrastructure, grow logistics networks, and develop air cargo services.
Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and CEO of CMA CGM Group, said: “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.”
The move advances the U.S. Administration’s recently-announced priority to strengthen American shipbuilding capabilities. This includes bolstering APL’s U.S. flag capacity and enhancing maritime resources with new jobs, skills, and technologies. These commitments will reinforce APL’s position as the leading carrier for U.S. government cargo transportation, while also ensuring the safe, open, and reliable access to the oceans necessary to promote America’s economic and national security ambition.
The Group will also develop port infrastructure in key locations across the U.S., including New York, Los Angeles, Dutch Harbor, Houston and Miami. These investments will contribute to efficient operations and supply chains, accelerated digitization and improved connectivity, and increased safety for port workers and cargo.
This investment will improve U.S. logistics and supply chain infrastructure through the development of warehousing and automotive logistics platforms across the country. These contributions will help ensure the security and reliability of the domestic supply chain, while also advancing U.S. leadership in logistics.
To remain at the forefront of innovation, CMA CGM will open a new logistics R&D hub in Boston, focusing on advanced robotics and automation solutions. Developed in collaboration with leading American technology partners, this innovation hub will optimize logistics services to ensure the best service quality for our American customers.
Trump is preparing a series of executive orders to support the development of the country’s shipbuilding industry, including a fee on Chinese-made ships and cranes entering U.S. ports, the creation of a dedicated shipbuilding office and new tax incentives for domestic shipbuilders.
Half a month before CMA CGM announced its investment plan, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative proposed to impose additional port charges on Chinese-built ships, a proposal that calls for high port charges of up to $1 million per port call in the U.S. for Chinese-operated ships and up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built ships. This plan also includes additional fees based on the percentage of an operator’s order in a Chinese shipyard.
It is worth noting that both CMA CGM and its subsidiary APL operate Chinese-built vessels. According to Alphaliner’s latest analysis, CMA CGM has built 274 vessels in China, with 52% of its orders placed at Chinese shipyards.
On February 28, CMA CGM just signed a contract with China Jiangnan Shipyard for the construction of as many as 12 18,000 TEU LNG dual-fuel container ships, with a contract value of up to RMB 19 billion yuan, which will be delivered in 2028 and 2029 one after the other.
In response to the Trump administration’s policy moves, CMA CGM recently issued a critique saying that an increase in U.S. port fees on Chinese-built ships would have a significant impact on all shipping companies, and that once implemented, these fees would ultimately be borne by consumers.
According to the March 6 CMA CGM CEO and Trump’s statement during the meeting, CMA CGM began to consider to build container ships in the U.S. shipyards, or will be “in the next few weeks to announce the shipbuilding plan”. This also represents the challenges and uncertainties faced by global shipping giants under the fierce competition between China and the U.S.
If CMA CGM place order in the U.S., it will face the following dilemmas: high cost, at least three times that of Chinese shipyards, and the U.S. policy subsidies are difficult to offset (the largest U.S. container ship is only 3,600 TEU, and the cost of a single ship is as high as 330 million U.S. dollars, while a 18,000 TEU ship from a Chinese shipyard is less than 210 million U.S. dollars).In addition, U.S. shipyards are only able to build small and medium-sized ships with delivery times of more than four years (U.S. shipyards account for less than 1% of global shipyard capacity); and the supporting industry is weak, with a disconnected labor force and technological bottlenecks.
Although the U.S. is set to introduce multiple policies to restrict China’s shipbuilding industry, Chinese shipyards remain irreplaceable in terms of cost, technology, and scale. CMA CGM faces a challenging decision between navigating policy risks and maximizing economic benefits.