CMA CGM Launches AMERXL Service at Port of Charleston

CHARLESTON, United States – South Carolina Ports added CMA CGM’s AMERXL service to the Port of Charleston in March 2025, raising the hub’s weekly container links with South America to six dedicated rotations. The ocean routing connects Charleston directly to Cartagena, Guayaquil, Callao, and San Antonio with southbound transit intervals spanning 5 to 17 days. Terminal infrastructure at Charleston provides over 2,000 active refrigerated container plugs to accommodate agricultural imports and export cargo.

What Is the Full Scope of This Project?

The AMERXL port rotation integration expands intermodal cold-chain capacity between the U.S. Southeast and South American agricultural centers across eight maritime ports. The full port rotation connects Port Everglades, Philadelphia, New York, and Charleston on the U.S. East Coast with Cartagena in Colombia, Guayaquil in Ecuador, Callao in Peru, and San Antonio in Chile. This routing targets temperature-controlled freight flows, allowing inbound transit of South American produce, cut flowers, and seafood alongside outbound movements of U.S.-produced animal proteins. Supporting this maritime rotation, SC Ports provides more than 2,000 on-dock reefer plugs alongside regional cold-storage facilities near the terminal gates. Capital expenditures dedicated specifically to this service addition were not disclosed by the port authority or CMA CGM.

Key Project Data

How Does This Compare to Similar Projects?

Freight throughput growth on the U.S. East Coast coincides with broad North American rail market expansion driven by intermodal demand. North America’s rail sector is projected to reach USD 6.30 billion by 2026, supported by agricultural traffic and intermodal modernization (Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2025). By comparison, the European rail market is projected to reach USD 16.43 billion by 2026, while the Asia Pacific rail market is forecast to reach USD 25.48 billion over the same period (Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2025). Regional Southeast rail connectivity supporting coastal ports also saw operational stabilization, evidenced by a March 2025 tentative labor agreement between the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen and Georgia Central Railway covering regional short-line feeder routes (Source: BLET, 2025). Independent verification of the exact weekly TEU allocation contracted by CMA CGM at Charleston was not available at time of publication.

Editor’s Analysis

Expanding fixed-day maritime loops like AMERXL responds to sustained population growth across the U.S. Southeast, placing higher demands on intermodal rail and cold-chain staging capacity. As North American rail investment heads toward USD 6.30 billion by 2026, terminal operators must align dockside reefer slots with rapid inland rail transfers to prevent dock congestion (Source: Fortune Business Insights, 2025). Ports that maintain cold-storage trackage and short-line rail coordination will secure higher-margin perishable freight against competing Atlantic coast gateways.

FAQ

Q: Which ports are included in CMA CGM’s AMERXL rotation?
A: The AMERXL rotation stops at Port Everglades, Philadelphia, New York, and Charleston in the United States, connecting to Cartagena, Guayaquil, Callao, and San Antonio in South America. Southbound transits across these stops range between 5 and 17 days.

Q: What is the refrigerated container capacity at the Port of Charleston for this service?
A: The Port of Charleston maintains more than 2,000 on-dock refrigerated container slots alongside neighboring commercial cold-storage facilities. Specific capital investment figures for this service integration were not disclosed.

Q: How does this service expansion affect regional freight distribution?
A: The six weekly South American rotations increase volume for regional truck drayage and intermodal rail links distributing imported perishable foodstuffs inland. Dedicated modal split allocations between truck and rail for this service have not been officially confirmed.