CMA CGM announced on July 18 the launch of a five-year partnership with Google. This collaboration is a crucial step in the group’s digital transformation. Thanks, among other things, to Google’s Paris center, opened in mid-February, and its 300 researchers, the third largest shipping company hopes to accelerate the development of AI within its maritime, logistics and media activities. CMA CGM is also expected to overtake Maersk by 2026 in transport capacity after a net profit in the first quarter of 2024 three times higher than the latter.
The partnership is emblematic of the impact that AI is having on all sectors. Denmark’s Maersk has been working for several years with researchers at the Technical University of Denmark to optimize its ship routes and port operations; together with MSC and Hapag-Lloyd, these four European giants share half of global trade. However, this dominance is threatened by uncertain political prospects and increasing competition from Asian companies such as Cosco, One, Evergreen and HMM.
