On 4 March 2024, Trump initiated a global trade war by imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico while increasing duties on Chinese products. In addition, in the days prior, he announced his intention to implement a one-million-dollar tax on each China-built vessel entering US ports, along with further levies on goods transported by ships not flying the US flag. These measures have raised concerns among maritime companies, as highlighted in the presentation of Cma Cgm’s fourth-quarter 2024 results on 28 February by chief financial officer Ramón Fernández.
The French company is closely monitoring the situation and is preparing solutions to navigate a potential crisis, given that the most significant container traffic originates from China. Any measure affecting the Asian country has repercussions for all logistics operators. Cma Cgm appears particularly vulnerable to US policies, as it is part of the Ocean Alliance, which includes two Chinese companies (Cosco and Oocl) and one from Taiwan (Evergreen), an alliance recently extended until 2032. Moreover, the French company operates container terminals in the ports of Los Angeles and New York-New Jersey.
Fernández also reported that in the fourth quarter of 2024, Cma Cgm posted a profit of approximately 1.4 billion euros, compared to a loss of around 85.5 million euros in the same period of 2023. This brings the annual profit to nearly five and a half billion euros, a result that is unlikely to be matched in 2025, at least judging by the way the year has begun.
