The legal acquisition of Freightliner’s UK intermodal business by French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM was completed in the early hours of Friday morning. The deal brings the UK’s largest intermodal rail freight operator into the CMA CGM Group, marking a significant development in the integration of maritime, inland and rail logistics across the British market.
CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saadé said the acquisition represented a strategic step for the Group and for UK rail freight. His statement places rail at the centre of CMA CGM’s long-term logistics model, underlining ambitions around connectivity, supply chain resilience and lower-carbon transport, while confirming the United Kingdom as a priority market for future investment.
Rail freight within CMA CGM’s logistics model
Commenting on the completion of the deal, Rodolphe Saadé highlighted the scale of the workforce joining the Group. “We are pleased to welcome the 1,600 colleagues of Freightliner Group Ltd, the UK’s leading intermodal rail freight operator, into the CMA CGM family,” he said, signalling continuity as well as expansion following the transaction.
Saadé framed the acquisition as part of a broader strategic trajectory for the Group. “This marks an important milestone as we continue to strengthen and expand our logistics capabilities across the value chain,” he said, linking the Freightliner purchase to CMA CGM’s wider ambition to offer integrated, end-to-end transport solutions across shipping, inland logistics and rail freight. The scope of the company is already familiar to subscribers of our shipping title, WorldCargo News.
A core pillar of future growth
In his statement, Saadé made clear that rail freight will play a more prominent role within CMA CGM’s global operating model. “By integrating Freightliner, rail becomes a stronger pillar of our model,” he said, emphasising improved connectivity between ports and inland hubs as a central benefit of the acquisition.
He also pointed to operational and environmental outcomes. Saadé said the integration would enable “greater reliability across supply chains, and more efficient, lower-carbon transport solutions for our customers.” This framing aligns Freightliner’s established electric traction and intermodal network with CMA CGM’s decarbonisation objectives and customer-facing sustainability commitments.
The UK is a long-term strategic market
Saadé underlined the significance of the UK within CMA CGM’s global footprint. “The United Kingdom has been a strategic market for CMA CGM for more than 35 years,” he said, placing the Freightliner acquisition in the context of a long-standing commercial presence rather than a short-term expansion.
He added that the deal “positions the Group as a long-term player in rail freight, with a clear ambition to continue investing and growing in this market.” The statement reinforces expectations of sustained engagement with UK rail logistics. Before the acquisition, Freightliner had expressed ambitions to radically expand its business. That has not changed. CMA CGM says the Freightliner will continue to operate as a standalone, multi-user intermodal provider within the Group – and an ambitious one at that.