French carrier CMA CGM will re-flag more than two dozen ships under its home flag, a year after its chief executive appeared in the Oval Office as President Donald Trump unveiled plans to revive the US maritime sector.
The world’s third largest shipping company has announced that 10 24,000 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) ships will be registered under the French flag in 2026. The move will increase the home’s registered fleet by 30%, to 40 vessels.
CEO Rudolph Saad, whose family personally controls CMA CGM, appeared in the Oval Office in March 2025 when Trump announced a sweeping initiative to revitalize the domestic maritime sector. At the time, Saad pledged to invest $20 billion over four years in U.S. shipping.
But as of February, the company, which has seven terminals in U.S. ports, spent only about $1 billion — all of it on terminals — in Bayonne, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, and none on new ships from U.S. ships. It registered only one ship under the US flag.
The company also reported a decline in shipping revenue and profit in 2025 even though overall container volume improved marginally.
Box traffic reached 24.2 million TEUs, up 2.8% year-on-year, while revenue fell 6.1% to $34.3 billion. Operating income (EBITDA) fell from $11.2 billion to $7.9 billion and EBITDA margin fell 7.8 points to 23%, with average revenue per TEU down 8.7% to $1,414.
The company said the results were affected by global trade realignment, geopolitical disruptions and excess vessel capacity.
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After Trump photo op, CMA CGM to flag back 30 ships in France appeared first on FreightWaves.
