09/09/2026
Rodolphe Saadé, CEO of CMA CGM, gave a rare interview to Maritime Analytica. The bottleneck in logistics has moved from sea to shore. He treats it as something to build around, not wait out.
CMA CGM is using transshipment hubs like Khor Fakkan to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. They're developing inland corridors via Jeddah so cargo moves overland when sea routes get unstable. Saadé admits these solutions increase costs, but they keep customers served. Separately, CMA CGM launched United Ports with investment fund Stonepeak, which put in $2.4 billion for a 25% stake, keeping 75% and full operational control. His goal: end-to-end solutions combining ocean, inland logistics, terminals, and warehousing.
An inland terminal is a point where a container moves from ship to train, train to truck, clears customs, gets grouped for the next leg. While cargo is in a terminal, it's in the system. When it sits in a border queue or on a rail siding, it's outside the system. A terminal gives you predictable handling rhythm regardless of what happens to sea routes. Saadé says: if disruptions persist, you keep building alternative solutions.
For Ukraine this is concrete. Odesa is closed. The entire rail container network inside the country is overloaded. There are not enough fitting platforms or terminals to process them. A container that could travel by train to the west and switch to European gauge at the border sits on sidings for weeks.
The argument against investing now is that Odesa might reopen. First, even if it does, that's mostly about commodity economy, and rates may not be what they were before the war. Second, this trend develops with or without Odesa open. Saadé explains exactly this in the interview. Global carriers are pouring capital into inland infrastructure because the bottleneck has structurally moved to shore.
Build now. The wind is in the sails.
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