Cma Cgm is taking over Freightliner UK Intermodal Logistics, one of the country’s leading rail freight operators, strengthening the French group’s presence in the UK. The acquisition, announced on 22 September 2025, did not disclose the purchase price, but French sources estimate a value of around £300 million (€344 million). Freightliner will continue to operate as an autonomous brand with its current organisation, maintaining a multi-client and multi-user approach. The transaction excludes the group’s other divisions – Heavy Haul, Rotterdam Rail Feeding and its activities in Poland and Germany – which remain under the original ownership.
According to Cma Cgm, integrating Freightliner will enhance its intermodal offer by combining sea, rail and road transport, linking major European ports with the UK hinterland through strategically located terminals. The move is part of a broader strategy to shift cargo from road to rail, seen as a crucial step in reducing CO2 emissions across supply chains.
Freightliner was founded in 1965 as part of the then state-owned British Rail, with its first train connecting London to Scotland, marking the start of intermodal freight in the UK. Conceived by Richard Beeching in his “Reshaping Britain’s Railways” report, the company was designed around a network of 55 strategically placed depots for container transport. In 1968, following the Transport Act, it became a separate company, wholly owned by the British government, and focused mainly on international traffic through UK ports. By 1972, Freightliner had carried its first million containers, reflecting the rapid expansion of its terminal network across major cities and ports.
The company was privatised in 1996 through a management buyout backed by 3i and Electra Private Equity for £5.4 million. In 2015, it was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming, which was sold in 2019 to a consortium led by Brookfield Infrastructure and Singapore’s GIC. In 2024, Freightliner was spun off from G\&W to become an independent company.
Today, Freightliner UK Intermodal Logistics runs more than 80 daily services on 40 routes, deploying over 185 locomotives – the UK’s largest electric fleet – around 2,000 wagons and twelve inland terminals, eight of which it owns. It serves key British ports including Felixstowe, Southampton, London Gateway, Thamesport and Tilbury, linking them to major urban centres.
Freightliner transports around 700,000 TEU annually, with capacity for one million TEU. It holds a 23% market share in container transport, rising to 78% for deep-sea containers moved by rail from the main southern ports. Revenues have been volatile in recent years, from £217 million in 2019 down to £181.2 million in 2020 due to Covid, recovering to £216.6 million in 2022 before falling again to £188.1 million in 2023. The company has operated at a loss during this period, while maintaining a workforce of around 1,000, including nearly 600 drivers. In the UK, rail carries only nine per cent of total freight, with Freightliner and DB Cargo leading the sector, followed by GB Railfreight. Together, the three control nearly 90% of rail freight volumes.
Cma Cgm already has a significant presence in the UK, employing around 7,200 people. Its shipping division manages 28 liner services with 286 staff, handling 802,000 TEU to and from the UK in 2024. Through its subsidiary CCIS, it moved 200,000 TEU by rail and road in the first seven months of 2025. The group also operates via Ceva Logistics, employing 6,768 staff across 103 sites, offering 718,000 square metres of warehousing and consolidation services.
The acquisition of Freightliner fits into Cma Cgm’s wider strategy of reducing reliance on the volatile maritime sector by investing heavily in land and air logistics. Logistics already accounted for around a third of the group’s sales in 2024. In European rail, Cma Cgm entered the Spanish market in 2021 with the €25 million acquisition of Continental Rail.
