CMA CGM will invest $600m to upgrade its newly acquired New York and New Jersey terminals.
The French liner giant said the investment will increase capacity by up to 80%, allowing larger vessels to dock, and create about 1,000 jobs.
At the same time, it will create about 1,000 jobs.
The company will work with the states of New York and New Jersey to invest in rail and road infrastructure for the multi-user terminals.
That would create more direct access to freight rail lines and major highways and limit the number of trucks needed for shipping and transportation, it said.
The upgrade would result in “meaningful environmental improvements” as CMA CGM seeks to cut emissions to meet a net zero goal by 2050.
“It is a major step forward in our strategy of developing and modernising infrastructures here and around the world,” chief executive Rodolphe Saade said.
CMA CGM has renamed the two terminals it acquired from Global Container Terminals (GCT) Port Liberty New York and Port Liberty Bayonne.
The company will operate the facilities under the current management team.
CMA CGM has not revealed the price of the acquisition.
However, Bloomberg reported in October last year that the sale could fetch about $3bn for GCT’s owners, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, IFM Investors and British Columbia Investment Management Corp.
The liner giant’s US footprint now comprises seven terminals, including the recently acquired Fenix Marine Services in Los Angeles, PMS in the same area, Dutch Harbor in Alaska and 26% stakes in Bayport in Houston and South Florida Container Terminal in Miami.
CMA CGM began its operations in the US in the late 1980s and opened its headquarters there in Norfolk, Virginia in 2005. It employs more than 15,000 people in the US.
The shipowner also operates a fleet of nine US-flag vessels under the APL brand, formerly American President Lines.
CMA CGM has investments in more than 50 port terminals in 28 countries through CMA Terminals and its Terminal Link joint venture.
