French shipping giant CMA CGM invests $20 billion in US

• French shipping giant CMA CGM announced a $20 billion investment in U.S. infrastructure. The investment will triple its U.S.-flagged fleet, upgrading port facilities and establishing a new airfreight hub in Chicago, creating 10,000 new jobs.
• The investment aligns with President Donald Trump’s efforts to reduce China’s dominance in global logistics, as CMA CGM aims to support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain.
• The announcement follows a proposal by the Office of U.S. Trade Representative to levy fees on Chinese maritime operators and vessels.

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One of the world’s largest shipping companies announced $20 billion in new infrastructure spending in the U.S. as President Donald Trump looks to marginalize China’s dominance in global logistics. 

CMA CGM plans to “contribute to U.S. maritime economy and support the transformation of America’s domestic supply chain” over the next four years. Plans include tripling the size of the container line’s U.S.-flagged fleet, upgrading its U.S.-based port facilities and a new airfreight hub based in Chicago, CMA CMG President Rodolphe Saadé told the Wall St. Journal on Thursday, March 6.

The company expects the expansion plan to create 10,000 new U.S. jobs, expanding on its current domestic workforce of 15,000 American workers.

Saadé met with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday. 

“We will go from 10 that we operate today to 30 U.S.-flagged ships and hopefully doing more in the months to come,” Saadé said. 

The announcement comes days after the Office of U.S. Trade Representative announced a new proposal to levy fees on Chinese maritime operators and vessels that shipped from Chinese ports.

If approved, the proposal would charge $1 million per U.S. port arrival fee on Chinese shipping operators and up to $1.5 million per U.S. port call for operators using Chinese-built vessels, among other new fees.

The action stems from a report ordered by the Biden administration analyzing China’s dominance in maritime shipping. The report alleged China was the source for much of the U.S. shipping industry’s struggles. Chinese shipbuilders account for nearly half of the entire industry.