Latest news with #RamonFernandez
Reuters
16-05-2025
- Business
- Reuters
France's CMA CGM to redeploy fleet to avoid U.S. port fees on Chinese vessels
PARIS, May 16 (Reuters) - French shipping group CMA CGM will reorganise its global fleet to avoid U.S. port fees on Chinese-built vessels that are due to take effect from October, the company's finance director said. The port charges are another operational headache for shipping firms wrestling with the fallout from U.S. tariffs, though adjustments made by Washington after an industry backlash have made the fee scheme less disruptive than feared, Ramon Fernandez, CMA CGM's chief financial officer, told Reuters. U.S. President Donald Trump's administration aims to use the port fees to counter China's dominance in global shipbuilding and support a revival of U.S. maritime transport. "We have enough ship capacity to adapt to this situation and avoid paying fees," Fernandez said in an interview, adding that less than half of CMA CGM's fleet of around 670 ships were Chinese-built. On a complex scale of fees, Chinese companies operating ships built in China face the steepest levies for calling at U.S. ports. All shipping firms including China's COSCO would adapt to the fees, Fernandez added during a call with reporters, without commenting on the potential impact on Ocean Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement in which CMA CGM and COSCO are among the partners. The world's third-largest container shipping line, CMA CGM, was hailed by Trump for a plan to invest $20 billion in the United States. Reporting first-quarter results, CMA CGM said a rush to ship goods before the U.S. tariffs announcement on April 2 had supported a 4.2% year-on-year rise in its maritime volumes, contributing to an increase in group sales and profits. Controlled by the French-Lebanese Saade family, CMA CGM also has a large logistics business and growing media interests. Echoing its peers, CMA CGM said the escalation in tariffs in April had stifled trade between China and the U.S., before a revival in demand this week following a Sino-American agreement to scale back tariffs temporarily. The group saw the cancellation of around half of bookings for May shipments between China and the United States prior to an upturn this week, Fernandez said. "Everyone is expecting trade in June to be much more active than was feared just a few days ago." He declined to give an outlook for full-year volume growth in container shipping, citing uncertainty over how the on-off trade war will play out.
Reuters
28-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
US port fees on China vessels would affect all shipping firms, CMA CGM says
PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - U.S. proposals to hit Chinese vessels with high port fees would have a major impact on all firms in a container shipping industry in which most vessels are built in China, French-based shipping firm CMA CGM said on Friday. The U.S. Trade Representative's office has proposed charging up to $1.5 million for Chinese-built vessels entering U.S. ports as part of its investigation into China's expansion in the shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors. "China builds more than half of all container ships in the world, so this would have a significant effect on all shipping firms," Chief Financial Officer Ramon Fernandez told reporters. CMA CGM, controlled by the family of Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade, is the world's third-largest container shipping line. It has a large U.S. presence, operating several port terminals while subsidiary APL has 10 U.S.-flagged vessels, Fernandez said. Asked about Ocean Alliance, a vessel-sharing agreement involving CMA CGM and Asian partners including China's COSCO, he said CMA CGM has had no indications the alliance could be called into question in view of U.S. policy. He declined to comment further on the USTR proposals pending a decision expected in April. The group already expects some impact on shipping this year from new tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, which could accelerate a shift in trade routes underway since Trump's first-term tariffs on China, Fernandez said. A rush to beat new tariffs fuelled strong shipping volumes last year, a trend which has continued at the start of 2025, Fernandez said. CMA CGM reported a 7.8% rise in shipped volumes in 2024, supporting an 18% rise in group sales to $55.48 billion. The market outlook, however, appeared less favourable this year given geopolitical uncertainty and with the risk of vessel overcapacity, he said. Disruption in the Red Sea due to attacks by Yemen's Houthi militants absorbed extra capacity last year, as many ships took a longer route around Southern Africa. A return to regular traffic through the Red Sea following the ceasefire in Gaza would change that balance, and might lead firms to scrap older vessels, Fernandez added.
