CMA CGM, the French shipping and logistics group, has agreed to buy FedEx’s contract logistics arm, FedEx Supply Chain, in a deal worth USD 1.4 billion. The agreement, announced jointly by both companies on 1 July, is expected to close sometime in 2026 once regulators sign off.
The purchase is a big deal for CMA CGM’s subsidiary CEVA Logistics, which handles warehousing, distribution and order fulfilment for businesses across North America. Folding in FedEx Supply Chain’s operations and its roughly 10,000 staff would nearly triple CEVA’s contract logistics business on the continent. Once merged, the combined operation would run about 150 warehouses and employ close to 20,000 people across more than 240 sites, stretching from healthcare and retail clients to automotive and industrial goods firms.
For FedEx, selling off this unit is about doing less, not more. The company built up its supply chain business over a decade, first buying it in 2015 (when it was known as Genco) for the very same USD 1.4 billion price tag it is now selling for. This deal also follows FedEx spinning off its less-than-truckload freight business in June, part of a broader effort to slim down. FedEx’s leadership has signalled it wants to concentrate on what it calls high value verticals, essentially its core parcel, express and freight delivery networks, rather than running warehouses on behalf of other businesses. Offloading the supply chain arm lets FedEx sharpen that focus while still keeping a commercial foothold in the space through new agreements with CMA CGM.
That is where the second part of the announcement comes in. Alongside the sale, the two companies plan to sign multi-year agreements covering ocean and air freight, expected to roll out in phases between 2026 and 2028. CMA CGM will become a preferred, though non-exclusive, ocean carrier for FedEx’s cargo, while the pair will also cooperate on air cargo capacity to make better use of aircraft space on long-haul routes. In effect, FedEx is trading a warehousing business for a deeper shipping relationship with one of the world’s largest container carriers.
The timing fits a broader pattern. CMA CGM pledged in early 2025 to pour USD 20 billion into US warehousing, air cargo and wider logistics infrastructure over four years, part of a push to build an end-to-end network that spans ships, ports, warehouses and last-mile delivery rather than just ocean freight. The FedEx deal, alongside other recent acquisitions this year including distribution firm Fattal Group and aircraft maintenance provider Crystal Aero Solutions, shows the group moving quickly to build out that ambition on US soil.
For an industry still adjusting to disrupted trade routes, from the Panama Canal’s renewed draft restrictions amid a fresh El Nino outlook to the severe disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the ongoing US-Iran conflict, deals like this highlight how ocean carriers are trying to insulate themselves by controlling more of the supply chain on land. Rather than simply moving containers between ports, CMA CGM is positioning itself to manage what happens to goods once they arrive, competing more directly with established logistics players on their home turf.
The transaction still needs regulatory approval before it closes, and both companies say further details on the commercial freight agreements will be worked out in phases once the sale completes.
Rodolphe Saade, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the CMA CGM Group, stated, “The acquisition and partnership with FedEx represent a major step in the development of CEVA Logistics and our logistics activities in North America. We are strengthening our ability to provide customers with integrated supply chain solutions. These deals also reinforce our long-term commitment to investing in the United States and supporting the resilience and efficiency of its supply chain.”
Raj Subramaniam, President and CEO of FedEx, added, “The announcement enables FedEx to further increase our focus on providing our unique expertise for high-value verticals, including healthcare, automotive, aerospace and data centers. By streamlining our portfolio, FedEx is better positioned to execute our long-term vision and continue to serve as the heartbeat of the industrial economy, delivering unmatched connectivity, reliability, and value to our customers globally. We look forward to leveraging our complementary relationship with global logistics solutions provider CMA CGM to support the next chapter for FedEx Supply Chain and its team members.”