As reported by WorldCargo News and RailFreight.com, a French shipping giant has bought into the UK rail freight sector with the purchase of Freightliner’s intermodal business. Overnight, that has moved CMA CGM into the top league in UK logistics with the purchase, which brings a nationwide network of trains and terminals under its wing. The move has been broadly welcomed as an investment in UK industry.
The deal, announced earlier this week (on Monday, 22 September), includes Freightliner’s rail and road operations, inland terminals, and the Freightliner brand. The transaction is expected to close in early 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. Other Freightliner operations – Heavy Haul, Rotterdam Rail Feeding, Freightliner Poland and Freightliner Germany – will remain under existing ownership.
Government and industry reaction
CMA CGM had expressed an interest in Freightliner when the business was originally put on the market earlier this year. However, that did not result in a deal. This week’s renewed interest has come as a surprise to much of the market. Nevertheless, it has been met with a welcome from most quarters. It is perhaps indicative of the UK government’s current level of distraction that no official comment has come from any ministry. Even so, it is likely that the sale will require scrutiny by the Competition and Markets Authority, and the attention of the Office of Rail and Road, and the UK Department for Transport.
Shortly after the deal was annouced and reported on WorldCargo News, Britain’s Rail Freight Group, the industry’s representative body, was quick to place a note of welcome on the table. ”It is good to see this significant investment in UK rail freight,” said Maggie Simpson OBE, their Director General. “It is a sign of confidence in intermodal rail freight growth. We look forward to seeing more details in future weeks”.
Historical context
The size of the acquisition has not been disclosed. However, CMA told some French media that “the revenue for Freightliner’s activity in the scope acquired by CMA CGM is about GB£300 million” (about €344 million). The Marseille-based group operates 60 port terminals in 30 countries across five continents, either independently or in joint ventures.
Although unique in scope, the concept of intermodal consolidation is not new, even in the UK market. For example, road and rail logistics firm Maritime Transport is a part of MEDLOG, a subsidiary of MSC. Several port operators, including Associated British Ports (ABP) and DP World, as well as the privately owned Port of Middlesbrough, have onshore logistics capabilities that extend into the rail freight sector. Historically, almost all freight operations in the UK were centrally managed by the government’s (now defunct) British Transport Commission.
Future of Freightliner as a company and brand
In a letter to all staff, Tim Shoveller, the chief executive of the Freightliner Group, explained the reasoning behind the sale of IML (Intermodal Logistics as the division is internally recognised). “In early 2025, our shareholders went through an evaluation process with a number of interested parties,” he said. “Although CMA CGM was always interested in investing in IML, they were committed to other projects globally and stepped away from the process at that time. Since then, CMA CGM reapproached our shareholders with an offer which reflects the value of our IML business, and this has now been agreed.
Other divisions of the business, both in the UK and Europe, will also see changes. “Heavy Haul (HH), Rotterdam Rail Feeding (RRF) and Freightliner Poland/Germany (FPL-FDE) will still be owned by Brookfield / GIC who are our existing shareholders,” explained Shoveller. “Heavy Haul has exciting plans to grow in several new bulk materials markets as a separate company with a new company brand and will continue with Dave Penney as MD. As an independent company, Heavy Haul will have a clear focus on the bulk markets, enabling it to build on the existing £150m annual revenue.”
Ambitions to grow intermodal internationally and domestically
Freightliner’s Heavy Haul division already has more than twenty customers, and runs more than 200 trains per week, and as a standalone business will be the largest dedicated Heavy Haul rail freight operator in the UK. The new intermodal rail freight business (under a yet to be revealed new name within CMA CGM) could also see rapid growth, emulating Freightliner’s earlier ambitions to grow that business significantly. If the shipping line converts any significant proportion of its shipping container haulage to rail, that alone would help realise Freightliner’s previous ambition of trebling intermodal traffic by 2050 (to something in the region of 90 trains per day).
However, there is substantial potential for intermodal growth, by aggressively targeting the market, and exploiting net-zero targets and legislation. Although intermodal traffic makes up about forty per cent of rail freight in the UK, rail still has a quite small portion of the overall market. Only around ten per cent of goods traffic is moved by rail, slightly behind inland and coastal waterways, with the remainder almost all on UK roads.
Delivering better solutions for customers
CMA CGM has, by its own reckoning, overnight become a key logistics player in the United Kingdom. However, the company is already a significant part of the UK economy, with nearly 7,200 employees across its existing maritime, logistics, and inland services. In their statement, they said that the addition of Freightliner opens the way to developing comprehensive intermodal offerings combining maritime, rail, and road.
“The acquisition of Freightliner, a leading rail freight operator, strengthens our intermodal presence in the United Kingdom, a strategic market for CMA CGM,” said Rodolphe Saadé, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer “It enables us to connect sea, rail and road more efficiently, delivering better solutions for our customers. It is also a concrete step in expanding lower-carbon transport options, supporting both their needs and the decarbonisation of global trade.”