CMA CGM lowers freight rates to support French households
Reduction of €500 per container for all imports to France and overseas territories.
The CMA CGM Group is ready to grant its distributor customers a reduction of €500 per 40-foot container for consumer goods imported via French ports.
"It is essential that this measure be accompanied by these brands in order to maximise the impact and ensure an effective reduction in the prices of consumer products. The decrease represents almost 10 percent reduction in the freight rate," says a statement from CMA CGM. (The release is only in French because it concerns only French territory, says the statement.)
The CMA CGM Group has decided to implement targeted measures to contribute to the efforts to moderate consumer prices for French households in consultation with the Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty, the statement added.
These measures will come into force on August 1, 2022 for a period of one year.
The CMA CGM Group has also decided to apply a reduction in freight rates, up to €500 for a 40-foot container, for all the imports it provides in the overseas territories. This represents between 10-20 percent reduction in the freight rate depending on the destination, the statement said.
"The State will be able to control the consumer prices of products (food products, personal hygiene, cleaning products, small household equipment) via the Quality/Price Shield (BQP) system. This measure is in addition to the decision of the CMA CGM Group to apply a freight rate freeze on the Overseas Territories from May 2021."
As of September 2021, the CMA CGM Group froze its freight rates on all of its shipping lines, "a measure still in force. This freeze was put in place from May 2021 for French overseas territories."
As for the rate freeze in September, it should be noted that, for example, the WCI comprehensive index also had its absolute peak in September 2021, says leading container shipping industry expert Lars Jensen in his LinkedIn post. "Since then, the index has declined 32 percent. In other words, the freeze was implemented at the absolute peak of the market."
