CMA CGM Expects Q1 Volumes Growth Despite Gulf Crisis

French shipping company CMA CGM expects first-quarter volumes growth of around 4.5%, despite major disruption to the global transport industry due to the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.

"Growth in CMA CGM's volumes in the first quarter should be around 4.5 percent. In Africa, it's in double digits," CMA CGM Chairman and CEO Rodolphe Saade told Le Figaro paper in an interview.

Saade said the company had resumed bookings in the Gulf region due to the fact that it was using landbound transit routes from ports outside the Gulf.

He added that 85% of CMA CGM's ships were currently using alternative routes via the Cape of Good Hope.

(Reuters - Reporting by Gus Trompiz; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)