CMA CGM buys FedEx logistics arm in $1.4bn US push

The deal will give the Marseille-based group a much bigger contract logistics footprint in North America, a market it has been targeting as part of its push beyond ocean shipping.   FedEx Supply Chain will be folded into CEVA Logistics, CMA CGM’s logistics arm.      The acquisition is expected to nearly triple CEVA’s North American contract logistics business.      The combined operation will have around 150 warehouses, taking CEVA’s wider North American presence to more than 240 locations and about 20,000 staff.   FedEx Supply Chain brings nearly 10,000 employees and a warehouse and distribution platform focused on contract logistics, fulfilment and supply chain management.      CMA CGM and FedEx also plan to enter into multi-year commercial agreements covering ocean and air freight. Under the planned ocean agreement, CMA CGM will become a preferred, but non-exclusive, ocean carrier for FedEx. The two companies also intend to work together on selected air cargo capacity, a move aimed at lifting aircraft utilisation and adding more flexible long-haul capacity to their networks.

Rodolphe Saadé, chairman and chief executive officer of CMA CGM, said the acquisition and partnership with FedEx marked a major step in the development of CEVA and the group’s North American logistics activities.   FedEx president and chief executive officer Raj Subramaniam said the sale would allow the US parcel and freight group to sharpen its focus on higher-value sectors including healthcare, automotive, aerospace and data centres.   The transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. The air and ocean agreements are expected to start in phases through to 2028.   The deal adds to a long acquisition run by CMA CGM, which bought CEVA in 2019 and has since used the platform to build a much larger logistics business.

Splash reported in 2024 that CMA CGM completed the $5.2bn acquisition of Bolloré Logistics, its largest acquisition since the group was founded in 1978.

CEVA has also integrated Ingram Micro’s CLS division and GEFCO, while CMA CGM has continued to add regional and downstream logistics assets, including Turkey’s Borusan Tedarik and Lebanon-based Fattal.