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CMA CGM Selects Port of New Orleans for Direct Asia Service

[ January 4, 2017   //   ]

CMA CGM announced a new direct-to-Asia container service from the Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal at the Port of New Orleans. The French company’s inaugural vessel is scheduled to arrive Jan. 31 for service by terminal operator Ports America. The direct weekly service to Asia will shave significant transit time off alternate routes, allowing container shipments to and from China, South Korea and Singapore to reach their destinations sooner.

“Louisiana is an international gateway for goods bound to and from America’s industrial heartland, and having this new direct service for shippers to vital Asian markets will create greater value for our economy,” Gov. John Bel Edwards said. “As we see billions of dollars of new industrial investments being made in Louisiana, strategic shipping services by CMA CGM and others will enhance existing import-export operations while making our state even more desirable for foreign direct investment projects.”

CMA CGM has provided shipping services at the Port of New Orleans since 2009 and currently operates two weekly services: Med-Americas Service to the Caribbean and to South and Central American ports from New Orleans; and the Victory Bridge Service to ports in northern Europe.

“CMA CGM is proud to be expanding our presence in New Orleans, further showing our commitment to the Gulf Region, and Louisiana specifically,” said President Marc Bourdon of CMA CGM America LLC. “We look forward to continued growth in the region, and are pleased to be contributing to the evolution and development of this vital hub. In the U.S., the group now offers a global coverage with 23 services in and out of North America to over 150 countries around the world.”

In New Orleans, shippers now will have greater options for making timely connections to Asia, a development that will serve as a catalyst for attracting new business to the port and the state.

“CMA CGM’s announcement is great news for the Port of New Orleans and Louisiana’s international trade community in that it brings Asia one giant step closer to our doorstep,” Port President and CEO Gary LaGrange said. “Our team has worked diligently to attract this service.”

Incoming Port of New Orleans President and CEO Brandy Christian said the service will position the port for future success.

“CMA CGM’s new direct Asia container service will enhance the competitiveness of the Port of New Orleans and Louisiana by providing faster transit times and expanding the port’s reach for shippers,” Christian said. “Initiating this service from New Orleans accomplishes a strategic goal for the port and will serve as a catalyst to attract new business to the region. We look forward to working with CMA CGM to ensure the service’s success.”

The new CMA CGM service will provide transit times of as little as 26 days from Asia. The service also will enhance offerings at the Mississippi River Intermodal Terminal at the Port of New Orleans, with additional service to such key markets as Memphis, Tennessee; Chicago; Detroit; Indianapolis and Toronto – all served daily by CN Railroad.

The direct service between New Orleans and Asia will add capacity and reliability for exporters, port officials said, and the move is strategically timed to serve a surge in resin exports anticipated in 2017.

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