{"id":361505,"date":"2026-02-03T18:19:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:19:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.railfreight.com\/?p=69046"},"modified":"2026-02-03T18:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T08:19:53","slug":"freightliner-uks-new-french-owner-comments-on-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=361505","title":{"rendered":"Freightliner UK\u2019s new French owner comments on acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The legal acquisition of Freightliner\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

CMA CGM chairman and chief executive Rodolphe Saad\u00e9 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Rail freight within CMA CGM\u2019s logistics model<\/h2>\n

Commenting on the completion of the deal, Rodolphe Saad\u00e9 highlighted the scale of the workforce joining the Group. \u201cWe are pleased to welcome the 1,600 colleagues of Freightliner Group Ltd<\/a>, the UK\u2019s leading intermodal rail freight operator, into the CMA CGM family,\u201d he said, signalling continuity as well as expansion following the transaction.<\/p>\n

\"Rodolphe
Rodolphe Saad\u00e9 is the chair and CEO of French shipping giant CMA CGM \u2013 and he is happy with his new train set. Image: LinkedIn \u00a9 Rodolphe Saad\u00e9<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saad\u00e9 framed the acquisition as part of a broader strategic trajectory for the Group. \u201cThis marks an important milestone as we continue to strengthen and expand our logistics capabilities across the value chain,\u201d he said, linking the Freightliner purchase to CMA CGM\u2019s 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>.<\/p>\n

A core pillar of future growth<\/h2>\n

In his statement, Saad\u00e9 made clear that rail freight will play a more prominent role within CMA CGM\u2019s global operating model. \u201cBy integrating Freightliner, rail becomes a stronger pillar of our model,\u201d he said, emphasising improved connectivity between ports and inland hubs as a central benefit of the acquisition.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to operational and environmental outcomes. Saad\u00e9 said the integration would enable \u201cgreater reliability across supply chains, and more efficient, lower-carbon transport solutions for our customers.\u201d This framing aligns Freightliner\u2019s established electric traction and intermodal network<\/a> with CMA CGM\u2019s decarbonisation objectives and customer-facing sustainability commitments.<\/p>\n

The UK is a long-term strategic market<\/h2>\n

Saad\u00e9 underlined the significance of the UK within CMA CGM\u2019s global footprint. \u201cThe United Kingdom has been a strategic market for CMA CGM for more than 35 years,\u201d he said, placing the Freightliner acquisition in the context of a long-standing commercial presence rather than a short-term expansion.<\/p>\n

He added that the deal \u201cpositions the Group as a long-term player in rail freight, with a clear ambition to continue investing and growing in this market.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The legal acquisition of Freightliner\u2019s UK intermodal business by French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM was completed in the early hours of Friday morning.\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19294,7541,65,78,47,18244,85],"tags":[12634],"class_list":["post-361505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cgm-cma","category-freightliner-uk","category-intermodal","category-rail-freight","category-rail-news","category-rodolphe-saade","category-uk","tag-railfreight"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=361505"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":361509,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/361505\/revisions\/361509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=361505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=361505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=361505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}