French logistics giant CMA CGM Group is to establish a cargo hub in Chicago were it will station Boeing 777 freighters.
CMA CGM has confirmed the plan as part of a broad investment in US activity.
The company created its own air freight operator, CMA CGM Air Cargo, in 2021, initially using ex-Qatar Airways Airbus A330-200Fs.
It subsequently became an early customer for the A350 freighter with an order for four, and also signed for a pair of 777Fs.
The company further expanded last year, doubling its agreement for A350Fs and disclosing that it would take two more 777Fs for operations between Asia and North America.
Over the course of summer last year CMA CGM Air Cargo was operating 777Fs on services from Paris Charles de Gaulle to both Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as A330F flights to Zhengzhou.
But it introduced its third 777F last year on new transpacific routes connecting Chicago O’Hare with Seoul, Hong Kong and Anchorage.
As part of a broad US investment, valued at $20 billion, it says it is expecting another pair of the twinjets to arrive this year – which would give the carrier five of the type.
It says this expansion of US air cargo capacity will be “anchored” by a new hub in Chicago, with five 777Fs “operated by American pilots” which will “strengthen US trade and connectivity”.
“Over the next four years, we will significantly grow our US-flagged [shipping] fleet, expand the capacity of key container ports on both coasts, develop state-of-the-art warehousing across the country, and establish a significant air cargo hub in Chicago,” says CMA CGM Group chief Rodolphe Saade.
Boeing’s official backlog figures list CMA CGM as having ordered three 777Fs, but the airframer also attributes another 39 to unidentified customers.
