American President Lines

American President Lines, commonly known as APL, is a long-established container shipping brand headquartered in Singapore and owned by the CMA CGM Group. Its business focuses on international ocean container transport and related logistics services, including trans-Pacific and other major trade routes. The brand traces its history to American Pacific shipping activities in the nineteenth century and later developed through several organizational and business changes into an international liner operator. In 2016, the French shipping group CMA CGM completed its acquisition of Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), bringing APL into the CMA CGM organization. APL continues to operate as a CMA CGM brand, using the group's global route, port and logistics networks. No independently verified financial figures are included here.

APL's history is commonly traced to Pacific Mail Steamship Company and related Pacific shipping activities established in the United States in 1848. Through successive corporate reorganizations, changes in route operations and brand development, the business evolved from early mail and general maritime services toward modern container liner shipping. By the late twentieth century, APL had become an important U.S.-based container shipping company and expanded its trans-Pacific and other international networks as containerization transformed global trade. The business later became associated with Singapore-based Neptune Orient Lines (NOL), with the APL brand headquartered in Singapore. In 2016, CMA CGM completed its acquisition of NOL, bringing APL into the CMA CGM Group. APL has since continued as a CMA CGM container shipping brand, using the group's vessels, port network and global logistics platform. A complete account of every legal entity, fleet change and route adjustment is not included here.

• 2016

  Joins the CMA CGM group

  CMA CGM completed its acquisition of Neptune Orient Lines, and APL became a brand under CMA CGM.

• 1848

  Origins in Pacific shipping

  APL's history is usually traced back to the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, founded in 1848, and its related Pacific shipping operations.

An international container liner shipping brand focused on serving global trade and major ocean freight markets such as the Trans-Pacific.

• Container liner shipping

  APL's core business is scheduled international container liner shipping, using regular services and port networks to move containerized cargo for global trade, including trans-Pacific and other major routes.

• Trans-Pacific services

  Trans-Pacific shipping has been one of APL's long-standing business areas, serving containerized trade between Asia and North America through the CMA CGM network.