French shipping line CMA CGM has announced new local port charges in Indonesia, set to take effect from 15 March 2024 (date of loading in the origin ports) until further notice and until 10 April 2024 for shipments to the United States.
This charge will apply to both imports and exports and will apply to all types of cargo.
The amount of the new charge will be US$15 for 20-foot containers, US$20 for 40-foot containers, and US$25 for 45-foot containers.
Source: Container News
In response to the existing congestion situation in Kribi, Cameroon, CMA CGM has announced the implementation of a Port Congestion Surcharge (PCS).
The French ocean carrier will introduce a surcharge of US$150 | GB£120 | €140 per TEU for both dry and reefer cargo.
CMA CGM’s PCS will be effective from 1 February, except the United States, its territories and Canada, where the surcharge will take effect on 22 February. The Marseille-based company said the effective date for Latin American countries remains subject to notice.
Source: Container News
CMA CGM is about to surpass Mediterranean Shipping Company as the largest intra-Mediterranean operator, according to Alphaliner.
The French carrier has increased the number of ships and currently deploys much larger vessels in the Mediterranean compared to a year ago. Currently, CMA CGM operates 60 ships of over 96,000 TEUs in the intra-Mediterranean market, after adding six more vessels this year. The average size of CMA CGM’s deployed fleet has gone up to 1,677 TEU this year, from 1,433 TEU last year.
At present, the Marseille-based box line has a market share of 19.9% in the intra-Mediterranean, just behind MSC’s 22%. Alphaliner observed that CMA CGM is bucking a trend of carriers reducing their intra-Mediterranean exposure. MSC’s market share is down from 24% in 2022, while Maersk Line’s has decreased to 11% from 15% in 2022, after the Danish operator cut more than 10,000 TEUs from the intra-Mediterranean market.
With its new Greece-Turkey-Libya, Turkey-Libya and Greece-Turkey-Poti loops, CMA CGM has launched three new intra-Mediterranean services which have added 11,000 TEUs of capacity.
Alphaliner noted that CMA CGM historically has a strong presence in services to/from North Africa, especially in the Maghreb states (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya). The French line deploys a staggering 87.3% of its total intra-Mediterranean capacity in services calling to at least one Maghreb port. Compared to a year ago, CMA CGM has increased its capacity to the Maghreb by 40.4%.
Mainline operators still dominate the Mediterranean short-sea segment, with a combined market share of 66%, leaving 34% for regional carriers and common feeder operators. However, compared to a year ago, the major players have lost 5% of their market share, mainly as Maersk and ZIM Line removed a considerable amount of capacity from the market.
ZIM, which in 2022 registered a market share of 3.8%, has seen its share drop to 2.2% in the past twelve months leaving the carrier in eighth place (a drop of two rankings), ahead of Turkish short-sea carrier Akkon Lines. The Haifa-based carrier has reduced its intra-European capacity by a staggering 69.1% or 5,000 TEU in just one year. Most notably, it has significantly reduced the average ship size of its Israel-Turkey TBX loop from 3,143 TEU to just 1,984 TEU and closed its Turkey-Egypt TEX loop.
Source: Container News
French container shipping company CMA CGM has announced new Panama Canal surcharges for several routes worldwide.
In particular, CMA CGM will implement a surcharge of US$150 per TEU for all types of cargo from the US West Coast ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland to North Europe, Scandinavia, Poland and Baltic, effective from 12 January.
Additionally, the ocean carrier will introduce the same surcharge from South America West Coast to Canada East Coast on 1 January.
Moreover, CMA CGM will apply a US$150 Panama Canal surcharge to South America West Coast from Central America East Coast, the Caribbean, Leeward, Windward and French West Indies on 1 January, excluding shipments ex-Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands for which the surcharge will be effective from 20 January.
Source: Container News
Container lines are rapidly expanding connections out of South India to keep pace with growing trade volumes.
But the concentration of calls at private box terminals operated by Adani Group, which act as alternatives to Chennai Port, is becoming increasingly evident.
HMM has cemented its network with direct sailings out of Adani Kattupalli Port (AKPPL). Its FIM [Far East Asia-India-Mediterranean] service is a major boon for southern India shippers traditionally tethered to transshipment over Sri Lanka’s Colombo Port for mainline connections.
The FIM rotation is Busan, Kwangyang, Shanghai, Ningbo, Shekou, Singapore, Port Klang, Kattupalli, Nhava Sheva, Mundra, Karachi, Jeddah, (Suez Canal), Damietta, Piraeus, Genoa, Valencia, Barcelona, Piraeus, Damietta, (Suez Canal), Jeddah, Karachi, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Kattupalli, Singapore, Da Chan Bay and back to Busan.
In addition, CMA CGM has opened a new string out of Adani Ennore Container Terminal (AECTPL) for North Europe and the Mediterranean. The NEMO [North Europe-Mediterranean-Oceania] Service rotates Ennore, Colombo, Malta, Valencia, London Gateway, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Antwerp, Le Havre, Fos Sur Mer, La Spezia, Malta, Pointe Des Galets, Port Louis, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Singapore and Ennore.
“This new call will offer our customers a fast export connection from the main commercial area in South East India to Europe together with a direct import connection from Australia and Singapore,” said CMA CGM in a customer advisory, announcing the Ennore call.
The carrier further noted, “Ennore is also a natural gateway from/to ICD [inland container depot] Bangalore covered with an efficient rail connectivity and will provide a best-in-class service to the fast-growing automotive industry.”
The NEMO competes directly with Maersk’s ME7 Service, connecting South India trade via Ennore to North Europe.
The ME7 port rotation is Ennore, Colombo, Salalah, Algeciras, Felixstowe, Rotterdam, Bremerhaven, Jeddah, Salalah, Colombo and Ennore.
With more call additions, Kattupalli and Ennore have already made sizeable inroads into the Chennai market. According to available data, Kattupalli saw 58,046 TEUs last month, while Ennore handled 59,985 TEUs.
The growing shift of volumes to emerging port locations poses challenges for box terminals at Chennai Port, putting further investment in capacity development there at risk.
Source: Container News
French ocean carrier CMA CGM has announced the extension of its FAL 1 service into Poland.
The Marseille-based company said the first sailing Westbound from Asia will be on 10 August ex Pusan with CMA CGM Jacques Saade with an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at Gdansk on 5 October.
The updated FAL 1 service rotation will be Pusan (South Korea) – Ningbo (China) – Shanghai (China) – Yantian (China) – Singapore (Asia) – Algeciras (1/2) – Tanger Med (1/2) – Dunkirk (France) – Le havre (France) – Hamburg (Germany) – Gdansk (Poland) – Rotterdam (Netherlands) – Algeciras (Spain) – Port Klang (Malaysia) – Pusan
CMA CGM will now offer two complementary direct services FAL 1 and FAL 5 from Asia to Gdansk. FAL 1 will offer a direct service ex South Korea to Poland, enabling to offer more space for project cargo and also connection into the Baltic via Gdansk. Additionally, LNG vessels will be deployed on FAL 1 service.
“This CMA CGM product is an additional opportunity for our customers to support our Polish local market development but also inland opportunities to Ukraine – Czech Republic – Slovakia – Hungary,” noted the company in a statement.
Source: Container News
French ocean carrier CMA CGM reported revenue of US$12.3 billion and net income of US$1.3 billion in the second quarter of the year. These figures represent huge year-on-year decreases over the previous record year for the container lines when CMA CGM achieved US$19.5 billion in revenue and US$7.6 billion in profit.
Additionally, the company’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) reached US$2.6 billion, translating to a 73% year-on-year decline.
Commenting on the results for the period, Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, said, “As expected, our industry continued to normalise in the second quarter and, despite difficult market conditions, our performance remains robust. In recent years, we have significantly strengthened our two strategic pillars: transport and logistics. On that basis, our Group will pursue its transformation, as it continues to expand and to integrate recently acquired subsidiaries, while stepping up investments to decarbonize its activities.”
CMA CGM noted that the aforementioned results are driven mostly by the Group’s shipping business. The Marseille-based company announced that consolidated revenue from shipping operations amounted to US$8.4 billion, down 47.9% from the second quarter of 2022. Moreover, EBITDA totaled US$2.2 billion, 76% lower than in the prior-year period.
The average revenue per TEU amounted to US$1,491, down 10.3% year-on-year, with CMA CGM handling 5.6 million TEUs, almost the same volumes as the previous year.
“Volumes remained buoyant on the North-South lines, but the Transpacific and Asia-Europe lines were hit by the slowdown in household consumption and dealer inventory drawdowns,” noted the company in a statement.
CMA CGM noted that late 2022 trends continued to prevail in the first half, with “deteriorated market conditions in the transport and logistics industry”.
Macroeconomic forecasts for the second half of 2023 anticipate sluggish global growth given the persistent inflationary pressures weighing on consumer spending as well as the measures taken by central banks in response, and geopolitical uncertainties, according to CMA CGM’s announcement.
Source: Container News
French carrier CMA CGM is poised to overtake Maersk Line as the world’s second-largest liner operator, with its aggressive newbuilding orders and second-hand vessel purchases, according to Alphaliner’s report.
CMA CGM’s current fleet comprises 625 ships of 3.49 million TEUs, while it has 122 ships of 1.24 million TEUs on order.
In comparison, Maersk Line’s fleet, which stands at 4.14 million TEUs, has just 32 ships of 400,000 TEUs under construction. If the Danish operator, which was displaced by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) at the top of the liner rankings in 2022, does not acquire more vessels, by 2026, it will have just 4.54 million TEUs when all its new ships are ready, while CMA CGM would surpass Maersk Line with 4.73 million TEUs.
Alphaliner remarked, “As per mid-July, the French Line’s orderbook stands at 35.5% of the carrier’s existing fleet capacity. Unlike MSC, which accelerated its fleet expansion through newbuilding and by means of an absolutely massive second-hand buying programme, CMA CGM has taken a somewhat different approach and it also procured numerous mid-sized vessels through a tidal wave of charters. This includes both ships from the spot market and new tonnage that will join the carrier upon delivery.”
CMA CGM’s operated fleet first crossed the 1 million TEUs threshold in July 2009 and it took the carrier five years to pass the 2 million TEU milestone in July 2016.
At the time, CMA CGM’s takeover of Neptune Orient Lines (APL) propelled the group’s liner fleet from 1.79 million TEUs to 2.34 million TEUs.
Like MSC, CMA CGM began active purchases of pre-owned ships when freight rates began ascending to historical highs in 2020. The French line has purchased 427,000 TEUs of ships of all sizes. CMA CGM has also committed to 170 vessel charters since the start of 2023 and has been the most aggressive charterer among liner operators.
In a weakening market, CMA CGM might very well let go of older, less efficient ships in 2024, when charters expire. The company is scheduled to receive about 500,000 TEUs of newbuildings from now until the end of 2024.
In 2025, fleet additions will be relatively low at just 200,000 TEUs, before doubling to 400,000 TEUs in 2026. Assuming that half of CMA CGM’s orderbook is for growth and half of it will be for fleet replacement, the carrier’s fleet would stabilise at 4.2 million TEUs in late 2026.
The same assumptions would still put Maersk slightly ahead at 4.34 million TEUs, but the Danish line has repeatedly stated that it does not plan to grow its fleet beyond its current 4.14 million TEUs. Maersk Line has emphasised that its newbuildings aim to replace conventionally-fuelled tonnage with more modern, eco-friendly vessels powered by green methanol.
Source: Container News
French ocean carrier CMA CGM has revised its EURONAF service, which will now consist of four loops instead of two.
In Loop 1, CMA CGM will deploy three 1,700 TEU container vessels on the following 21-day rotation:
Malta (Italy) – Marseille (France) – Bejaia (Algeria) – Malta
Loop 2 will run between the ports of Barcelona and Oran with one vessel of 850 TEUs and one vessel of 1,700 TEUs. The frequency of the loop will be weekly on a 14-day cycle. The port rotation will be Barcelona (Spain) – Oran (Algeria) – Barcelona.
Two 1,300 TEU boxhsips will be used on the Loop 3, sailing under the following 14-day port rotation:
Genoa (Italy) – Marseille (France) – Alger (Algeria)
Finally, the Loop 4 will be operated by a fleet of three vessels each carrying 1,100 TEUs. The frequency will be weekly on a 21-day cycle and the rotation will be as follows:
Livorno (Italy) – Genoa (Italy) – Marseille (France) – Barcelona (Spain) – Tanger (Morroco) – Oran (Algeria) – Mostaganem (Algeria) – Livorno
CMA CGM said it will now offer expanded connectivity, optimised service regularity and schedule reliability, extensive port coverage in West Mediterranean and better service frequency with four departures per week.
Source: Container News
French ocean carrier CMA CGM saw its revenue, earnings and profits plunge in the first quarter of the year, compared with the same period in 2022.
In particular, the company’s revenue reached US$12.7 billion, down 30.2%, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) decreased by 61.3% to US$3.4 billion and net income fell from US$7.2 billion in 2022 first quarter to US$2 billion in the first three months of the current year.
Although the numbers are at significantly lower levels than in the previous year, CMA CGM noted that the financial results of the next three quarters of the year are expected to be even weaker. “In this environment, the first quarter is expected to be the best quarter of the year as the Group’s financial results continue to return to normal,” confirmed the Marseille-based company in a statement.
“The fourth-quarter of 2022’s trends remained in play in the first-quarter of 2023, with challenging market conditions in the transport and logistics industry, while freight demand continued to slow, spurring a rapid normalisation of spot freight rates,” added CMA CGM.
Meanwhile, the third-largest container carrier in the world moved 5 million TEUs in the first quarter of the year, translating to a year-on-year decline of 5.3%.
The ocean carrier pointed out that “second-half 2022 trends continued to prevail in 2023, with deteriorated conditions in the transport and logistics industry”, while macroeconomic forecasts for 2023 anticipate moderate global GDP growth over the year, in light of inflationary pressure which is dragging down consumer spending in OECD countries.
However, this may stabilise later in the year, according to CMA CGM, which said that “new capacity delivered over the coming quarters is expected to continue weighing on freight rates in container shipping.”
Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and CEO of the CMA CGM Group, commented, “After two exceptional years, our industry has entered a phase of normalisation due to the slowdown in global growth, inflation and a destocking phenomenon that is continuing in many parts of the world.”
He went on to highlight, “Despite this deteriorated context, our first-quarter results are extremely solid. They are the fruit of our investments – more than US$30 billion committed over the past two years – which enable us to constantly broaden and strengthen our range of transport and logistics solutions for our customers.”
Source: Container News
