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History & News

Since its creation in Marseilles in 1978, the Group’s operations have become international in scope. CMA CGM has grown through the creation of new maritime services, external growth programs and diversification into port terminal operations and multimodal transport.

Prized Saadé scoops award

"CMA CGM chairman and founder Jacques Saadé will today join the company of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Eric Tabarly and Ellen MacArthur as a recipient of the French Académie de Marine’s prestigious Manley Bendall Prize. (…) The award is made every year to a personality in the maritime world with a record of outstanding achievement."
Andrew Spurrier, Lloyds List, 17 Oct 2007
Orders and takeovers key for CMA CGM

"France’s CMA CGM is growing both organically and by acquisition as it seeks to close the gap on the world’s top two liner shipping companies. And while Maersk Line is still some way ahead, Jacques Saadé’s empire is certainly catching up on second-placed Mediterranean Shipping Co as it pursues a different strategy from most of its competitors. The speed of CMA CGM’s expansion is breathtaking, with the company now boasting by far the largest orderbook, which includes some of the biggest ships ever built."
Janet Porter, Lloyds List, 29 Aug 2007
CMA CGM engages car container gear

"CMA CGM is poised to open an offensive on the car carrier market via the introduction of a first batch of 200 containers designed to carry four cars each. The French group is due to take delivery of the new 40 ft containers later this month but says that other orders are already under discussion."
Andrew Spurrier, Lloyds List, 10 Aug 2007
CMA CGM seeks to increase car market share with new equipment

"Premier French shipping line CMA CGM is introducing specialised "Trans-Rak" car-carrying 40ft containers in a bid to tap into the lucrative high-end car shipment market. According to Alexis Michel, vice-president container logistics at the company, "about 10 million cars are transported worldwide by car carriers and about one million are shipped in containers"."
Mike Wackett, CI Online, 09 Aug 2007
European lines outpace Asia in boxship building bonanza

"JACQUES Saadé’s CMA CGM is growing much faster than any other liner shipping company, while AP Moller-Maersk’s containership fleet capacity has only expanded at a modest rate over the past couple of years."
News, Lloyds List, 23 Jul 2007
Shipping chief looks forward to smooth sailing

"Jacques Saadé was speaking to the Financial Times after AP Møller-Maersk, Maersk Line’s parent, on Friday announced an unprecedented cull of senior management apparently aimed at reversing nearly two years of poor performance (…) Mr Saadé said it would be some time before new managers with little knowledge of shipping could evaluate Maersk's problems and decide how to resolve them."
Robert Wright, Financial Times, 02 Jul 2007
CMA CGM completes takeover of Morocco's Comanav

"CMA CGM completes takeover of Morocco's Comanav France's CMA CGM Monday completed its acquisition of Morocco's Comanav. CMA CGM, as head of an unnamed consortium, was (…)"
Simon Heaney, American Shipper, 29 May 2007
Jacques Saadé, Founder and Chairman of CMA CGM was named Seatrade Personality 2007

"French shipowner Jacques Saadé was named Seatrade Personality 2007 for having progressively built up his CMA CGM Group into the world’s third largest container shipping company, correctly foreseeing the onset of globalisation and the growth of container trade from China in particular."
Press Release, Seatrade, 28 May 2007
Can shipping lines think long term?

"(…) "Newspapers, magazines and the media in general, and have reported that the ship capacity ordered for delivery between 2006-2009 are much higher than the expected growth in Asia and in China, in particular. The ship owners started panicking and for no real justified reasons, freight rates went down by end 2005, early 2006 by about 30 percent" Jacques Saade, launder and president CMA CGM (…)"
Simon Heaney, American Shipper, 16 Jan 2007
Expanded CMA CGM reverses decline at its home port

"CARGO throughput at CMA CGM’s home port has recovered strongly this year after falling off for the first time in 10 years in 2005. (…)"
Janet Porter, Lloyds List, 26 Jun 2006