As a leader in the global shipping and logistics industry, CMA CGM today is the third-largest shipping company in the world. Operating across more than 250 shipping lines worldwide and spanning 177 countries, CMA CGM provide its customers with comprehensive shipping and logistics services that help move cargo from start to end markets. In the Americas, shipping is the backbone of connectivity across the region, enabling key trade and logistics operations on both a local and international scale. Thus, to support the shipping and logistics industry across the Americas, CMA CGM operates a vast and robust shipping network, which is anchored in strategic ports and transhipment hubs that help connect the region with markets on both a local and international level.
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The Americas are a significant global hub for shipping, offering vital local trade connections and being well-positioned to connect with many critical international shipping routes. With such a wealth of markets spanning the Americas, the region is home to a diverse variety of import and export operations, with cargo including everything from manufactured and agricultural goods, and vehicles, to energy resources. Thus, CMA CGM is primed to provide the plethora of markets and industries within the region with complete and comprehensive shipping operations, driven by its global shipping networks. These networks ensure that every customer can access safe and timely cargo shipping and logistics services and support their supply chains at every step of the journey.
A key network within CMA CGM’s Americas shipping operations lies in the Caribbean, where CMA CGM services the raw materials, food, agriculture, and manufacturing markets with vital shipping and logistics solutions. A key hub for CMA CGM’s operations in the Caribbean includes Saint Martin and St. Maarten, a Caribbean island which is divided into two distinctive territories. The island has the Port of St. Maarten, also known as the Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facility, in the south of the country, which is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Then, in the north, there is the Port of Saint Martin, which is part of France’s overseas territory.
The Port of St. Maarten is one of the top cruise ports in the Caribbean, and so it is used to seeing a wide range of vessels arrive at its shores every year, both for cargo and tourism purposes. For cargo, the port is located along major shipping lines and so offers a vital hub for transhipment operations from the island and across the rest of the Caribbean. To facilitate such cargo operations, the port is home to a key cargo terminal, which is vital to supporting the importing and exporting of cargo to St. Maarten. Here, CMA CGM utilises the port as a vital transhipment hub serving the North-Eastern Caribbean region, offering weekly calls which act as a vital cargo link between St. Maarten and the neighbouring islands of Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius and Montserrat. Across these shipping services, CMA CGM is committed to handling a diverse array of cargo, including containerised, Out-of-Gauge (OOG) cargo, and conventional cargo, as well as reefer containers.
On the other side of the Island is the Port of Saint Martin in Marigot, which is within the French side of the island. Here, the Port of Saint Martin provides a versatile commercial port supported by a terminal that can handle all types of cargo primed for import, export and transhipment operations. At the port, the Ferry Terminal plays a central role in connecting cargo from the island with St. Maarten, Anguilla and St. Barthélemy to ensure the reliable movement of goods and business across the region. CMA CGM primarily serves the Port of Saint Martin with regional intra-Caribbean feeder services connecting Marigot with major global hubs across the region, including to Pointe-à-Pitre in Guadeloupe and Kingston in Jamaica. Thus, the port plays a vital role in the region’s local and international connectivity, with around 250,000 tons of cargo imported annually at the port.
We cannot talk about CMA CGM’s shipping and logistics services in the Caribbean without highlighting its maritime operations in Jamaica. In Jamaica, CMA CGM provides vital services to and from the Port of Kingston, which is the country’s principal maritime hub and also a leading transhipment hub for the wider region. The port is located on the southeastern coast of Jamaica, making it a vital stop for major shipping lines traversing the Panama Canal. One of the key facilities at the port of Kingston is the Kingston Container Terminal, which handles around 1.6 million TEUs of cargo annually, including everything from grains and motor vehicles to petroleum products. Therefore, with the port operating as a pivotal hub along global shipping lines, CMA CGM offers complete logistics solutions that are customised to the needs of its customers, ensuring that each one has access to door-to-door shipping to and from Jamaica, supported by specialised logistics solutions that can meet the specific and specialised needs of a diverse array of cargo types.
As we have seen, Jamaica operates as a vital transhipment hub for many Caribbean Islands, including Barbados, to support their shipping needs and connect them with global shipping services, enabling better access to international markets. Furthermore, in Barbados, CMA CGM is also one of the leading shipping lines in the country, operating through CMA CGM Barbados, which was incorporated in 2023. Over the last 3 years, CMA CGM has connected the Port of Bridgetown in Barbados with its Cagema Main Liner (CAGMIL) service, which offers direct connections from the US East Coast and Canada to the Eastern Caribbean and Guyana region. Alongside this, CMA CGM also offers its Kalinago Service (KALINAGO), which offers a direct connection between Trinidad and Tobago’s Port of Spain and the Port of Bridgetown in Barbados. The Port of Bridgetown is the country’s primary maritime gateway and plays a vital role in supporting both cargo operations for Barbados, as well as the country’s thriving cruise tourism industry. Thus, for CMA CGM, Barbados, and specifically the Port of Bridgetown, is a vital node across its America’s network serving the country with reliable and weekly services, whilst also connecting it with vital transhipment hubs across the region to support a more well-connected cargo network across the region.
Another key hub for CMA CGM’s America’s network is the Port of Port of Spain, located in Trinidad and Tobago. Here, CMA CGM Trinidad is the market leader in the twin islands, providing advanced container shipping solutions that are tailored to its customers’ needs. The Port of Port of Spain provides essential cargo handling for the region, thanks to its ideal location across multiple major shipping lines. These lines connect Trinidad and Tobago with trade links throughout the Caribbean, as well as across the Americas. Beyond this, the port is also vital for supporting shipping connections across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, making it a primary cargo hub facilitating global shipping. In fact, many shipping routes travelling from the Port of Port of Spain travel through the Panama Canal, highlighting the crucial place the port plays in supporting global trade, thanks to its proximity to one of the world’s most prominent shipping lanes. The Port of Port of Spain has a multipurpose and container handling facility, which is responsible for handling the bulk of containerised cargo, and so it operates as a key transhipment sub-hub for the broader Caribbean region.
Another key facet of Trinidad and Tobago’s shipping infrastructure, which is utilised by CMA CGM, is the Point Lisas Industrial Port. The port provides specialised port services for the country’s petrochemical, manufacturing and heavy industrial sectors, and so operates as the secondary main container and bulk port for the twin-island nation. Therefore, with these industries being key to Trinidad and Tobago’s import and export markets, CMA CGM provides specialised freight operations from the ports to ensure that no matter the type of cargo being moved, it is handled as safely and effectively as possible to ensure it reaches its destination in the best possible condition. Thus, for Trinidad and Tobago’s key commodity markets, CMA CGM helps connect businesses to support their long-term growth through the company’s vital interconnected shipping services.
The Port of Port of Spain then connects to Guyana, further highlighting the interconnectivity of CMA CGM’s shipping and logistics activities across the Americas. In Guyana, CMA CGM is the leading provider of shipping solutions, with its operations focused on delivering value and reliability for its clients. Having been present in the market for almost two decades, CMA CGM today has a partnership with the number one stevedoring companies in the country, which continue to support its ability to meet its customers’ shipping needs. Today, cargo headed for Guyana is typically routed through the Port of Spain, which is then transhipped across the region to end markets in Guyana. Thus, through CMA CGM, Guyana is vitally connected to the Caribbean, as well as to other key trade partners spanning North America, South America, and even Europe. To facilitate such connectivity, CMA CGM operates a weekly container shipping service directly to and from the Port of Georgetown, which is the principal and primary maritime gateway for the country.
Across all of CMA CGM’s services, the company also offers a range of value-added services to support its customers’ cargo from the start to the end of its journey. These value-added services include things such as cargo insurance and are built directly into CMA CGM’s online platform, making them an easy additional step for customers when arranging shipments. The platform provides complete visibility over its customers’ cargo shipments, ensuring that from the warehouse to the end destination, customers can monitor their cargo shipment, knowing that it is protected. Insurance offerings through CMA CGM’s value-added services can protect cargo from physical risk and damage. These damages could include loss or damage as a result of fire, collision, natural disasters, theft and mishandling. Therefore, when shipping with CMA CGM, both across the Americas and its global network, customers know that their cargo is being supported by expert shipping and logistics services, as well as its range of value-added services to ensure that cargo reaches its end destination safely and securely.
Across CMA CGM’s operations in the Americas, the company has continued to expand its service offerings to better strengthen its network across the region and support businesses with vital access to global markets. In December, CMA CGM announced that it was reshuffling its PEX2 Asia-Caribbean service, in an effort to strengthen its schedule reliability and enhance the overall port coverage across such a key corridor. The PEX2 service is one of the region’s most reliable and direct services spanning the Caribbean’s ports, whilst also providing a dedicated service between the Caribbean and Mexico. The adjustment to the PEX2 services will now add a call at Vung Tau in Vietnam to strengthen the region’s connection to Southeast Asia through feeder connections, whilst also offering new solutions for Mexico’s import and export markets to use the services to access further markets in Asia. Furthermore, the service will offer direct connection to the Dominican Republic, Panama, Jamaica, Colombia and Mexico, many of which will be supported by CMA CGM’s extensive port coverage through the company’s feeder services across the Caribbean. This development highlights CMA CGM’s continued commitment to supporting businesses across the region and the world with reliable, competitive and resilient services to serve the Latin American market for many years to come.
Across CMA CGM’s operations in the Americas, we are reminded why the company is a leader in the shipping and logistics sectors; from its role enhancing services across the interconnected shipping networks spanning the Americas, to providing reliable services along global routes to the likes of Europe and China, the company is a key driver of the region’s interconnectivity. With the continued expansion and development of its services, CMA CGM remains committed to supporting businesses and, in return, helping support the region’s economic development through vital services that keep supply chains and cargo moving.
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