CMA CGM operations in 2026
CMA CGM is the world's third-largest container carrier by TEU capacity, operating a fleet of more than 650 vessels across 420+ ports on five continents. Headquartered in Marseille and privately held by the Saade family under CEO Rodolphe Saade, the Group carried over 23 million TEUs in 2024. Beyond the core CMA CGM shipping line, the Group encompasses multiple shipping brands — APL (Singapore-based, acquired 2016), ANL (Oceania-focused), CNC (Intra-Asia), Comanav (North Africa), and Mercosul (South America) — alongside CEVA Logistics (a top-five global logistics subsidiary), CMA CGM Air Cargo, and a terminal joint venture (Terminal Link, 51/49 with China Merchants Port).
For freight forwarder ops desks, the structural fact that shapes daily CMA CGM work is the Ocean Alliance with COSCO Shipping, OOCL, and Evergreen. While the other major alliances reshuffled in early 2025 — 2M dissolved, Gemini formed, THE Alliance became Premier Alliance — Ocean Alliance remained unchanged and extended its operational agreement to 2032 in February 2024. The Day 10 Product, effective April 2026, deploys approximately 394 vessels across 41 weekly services with ~5.3 million TEU capacity and 520+ direct port pairs. On the Transatlantic, Ocean Alliance operates two loops under a separate cooperation with ONE — revised in February 2026 to 2 loops with 14 vessels and ~10,386 TEU weekly on the North Europe to US East Coast lane (a 37% capacity cut versus the pre-revision baseline), with Baltimore dropped from the port rotation. The VSA structure (Ocean Alliance + ONE cooperation) is unchanged. The continuity matters: unlike forwarders managing Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd through the Gemini transition or MSC's post-2M standalone launch, CMA CGM forwarders did not face alliance-driven service restructuring in 2025. Routing changes come from Red Sea rerouting (Cape of Good Hope for most Asia-Europe and Mediterranean services), not from alliance membership shifts.
CMA CGM operates under the primary SCAC code CMDU. Group brands APL and ANL use APLU and ANNU respectively. Container prefixes across the Group include CMAU (primary BIC-registered prefix), CGMU, ECMU, and AMCU. BL numbers use the CMDU prefix followed by an alphanumeric sequence. The brand distinction matters at the documentation level: a booking under CMA CGM SCAC CMDU versus APL SCAC APLU may route through different local agency teams even when the vessel and service string are identical.
CMA CGM's published fee schedules are fragmented across country-level PDFs. Amendment fees, cancellation fees, and VGM fees vary by geography. Pages on this site use validated fee examples from Germany, France, Singapore, and Canada where specific figures are confirmed from source documents.
What experienced ops teams watch for on CMA CGM
CMA CGM's My CMA CGM eBusiness portal is a mature, unified platform covering booking, SI submission, VGM, document dashboard, tracking, and invoicing. The DCSA v2.2 Track & Trace API runs live at api-portal.cma-cgm.com. On the digital tooling and API front, CMA CGM sits closer to Maersk's depth than MSC's. Where CMA CGM falls short of Maersk: no published draft BL turnaround SLA (Maersk publishes a 2-hour Verify Copy target), no published DG approval SLA (Maersk publishes a 4-working-hour target), and fee documentation scattered across per-country PDFs rather than a centralized FAQ.
Ocean Alliance's schedule reliability tracked at approximately 68% in March/April 2026 per Sea-Intelligence GLP #177 (ALL arrivals): below Gemini's ~85% (85.0% point) and MSC standalone's ~73% (73.4% point), but above Premier Alliance's ~54% (54.2% point). Two factors contextualize that figure: Cape of Good Hope routing for most Asia-Europe and Mediterranean services adds 10–14 days of transit time and compresses schedule buffers, and the Day 10 Product launching April 2026 upgrades to 41 weekly services with denser port coverage designed to improve schedule performance. Until Day 10 data materializes, ETA planning for CMA CGM shipments should be calibrated against the ~68% Ocean Alliance baseline, not Gemini's ~85%.
CMA CGM enforces a Manual Shipping Instruction Fee of EUR 100 per BL (using CMA CGM's template) or EUR 125 per BL (using the customer's own format) in Germany for SIs submitted by email rather than through the eBusiness portal or EDI. BL amendment fees prior to call closure start from the 2nd amendment at EUR 50 per BL in Germany (effective 15 February 2025). After call closure, the fee rises to EUR 125 per BL. These per-country fee structures create a channel-routing incentive that rewards digital submission and early amendment batching.
What Expedion handles for CMA CGM
Five operational workflows are fully supported on CMA CGM shipments today. Each one is documented in detail on its own page.
Booking
SpotOn instant quote (24-hour price lock) for spot-rate shipments and contract rate booking via My CMA CGM. SpotOn provides priority booking confirmation within 2 hours. Agents evaluate SpotOn vs contract rates and route through digital channels to avoid manual fees.
Shipping Instructions
SI submission on My CMA CGM eBusiness portal or API. Agents avoid the EUR 100–125 Manual SI Fee. ICS2 data preparation for EU-bound cargo.
Bill of Lading
Draft BL review from the CMA CGM document dashboard. Amendment fee tracking against per-country thresholds (first free, then EUR 50/BL in Germany from 2nd amendment). Telex release coordination.
Documentation
VGM submission via eVGM portal, DG declarations to DCOs, ICS2/AMS/ACI advance manifest preparation, arrival notice parsing for pre-alerts.
Tracking & Visibility
DCSA T&T v2.2 API integration. Alliance-aware milestone consolidation across COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen, and ONE tonnage. ETA calibration against Ocean Alliance's ~68% schedule reliability baseline (Sea-Intelligence GLP #177, March/April 2026, ALL arrivals).
TMS compatibility
Expedion agents operate CMA CGM workflows on top of your existing TMS. We connect via API where available and authenticated browser sessions where not. Your system of record stays intact.
| TMS | Integration | SI | BL | Booking | Tracking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CargoWise | eAdaptor (XML/SOAP) + eBusiness portal | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| GoFreight | Direct REST API subscription | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Magaya | Open API + Magaya Connect | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Logi-Sys | API + browser automation | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| No TMS | Email + spreadsheet workflow | Full | Full | Full | Full |
Frequently asked questions
How does CMA CGM's SpotOn compare to Maersk Spot?
Both are digital spot-rate booking products, but they differ in commitment structure. CMA CGM SpotOn guarantees the quoted price for 24 hours (extendable to 72 hours with Lock My Price) and provides priority booking confirmation within 2 hours, priority equipment release, and priority loading. Maersk Spot provides instant booking confirmation within 25 seconds and a two-way loading guarantee (booked vessel +/-3 days from ETD, or compensation). SpotOn's priority commitments are less specific than Maersk Spot's contractual loading guarantee. Expedion agents process both products, calibrating the approach to each carrier's commitment mechanics.
Does Expedion work with CMA CGM's Ocean Alliance partner vessels?
Yes. When a CMA CGM booking sails on COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen, or ONE tonnage (Transatlantic cooperation), Expedion agents track milestones through CMA CGM's visibility platform and flag any tracking data gaps from partner-operated legs. Customer-facing updates reflect the actual routing and operating carrier without exposing confusing alliance vessel identifiers.
How does CMA CGM's schedule reliability compare to Maersk's?
Ocean Alliance (CMA CGM, COSCO, OOCL, Evergreen) averaged approximately 68% schedule reliability in March/April 2026 per Sea-Intelligence GLP #177 (ALL arrivals). Gemini (Maersk + Hapag-Lloyd) ran at ~85% over the same period (85.0% point). The gap is partly driven by Cape of Good Hope routing on most Asia-Europe services, which adds 10–14 days of transit time. Expedion agents calibrate CMA CGM ETA commitments against the Ocean Alliance baseline rather than applying Gemini reliability data.
What channels does CMA CGM support for SI submission?
CMA CGM accepts SIs through the My CMA CGM eBusiness portal, EDI (via direct connection, INTTRA/e2open, Infor Nexus, CargoSmart), REST API (api-portal.cma-cgm.com), and manual email submission. Email submission triggers a Manual SI Fee of EUR 100–125 per BL in Germany. Expedion agents default to digital channels to avoid that fee.
Does CMA CGM publish a DG approval SLA?
No. Unlike Maersk's published 4-working-hour Case Management SLA for DG approval, CMA CGM does not publish a turnaround time commitment. DG bookings are reviewed by Dangerous Cargo Offices (DCOs) in five global locations: Marseille, Le Havre, Norfolk, Hong Kong, and Melbourne. Expedion agents track DCO acceptance status proactively and escalate when turnaround exceeds expected norms — effectively creating the SLA that CMA CGM does not publish.