French line CMA CGM is introducing new car-carrying containers outfitted with a system of sliding, retractable ramps.

The 40-foot containers can transport up to four vehicles of any kind and represent a breakthrough in automobile transport.

This new Trans-Rak innovation offers a containerized alternative to shipping cars on car carrier vessels. It makes service to secondary ports easier and is more responsive to the needs of automobile exporters in terms of shipping schedules and flow.

These new car-carrying containers make door-to-door service possible without breaking bulk. Vehicles leave the production line and arrive directly at distribution centers with no handling in between. This protects cars from damages due to handling or weather and theft. In addition, the system is retractable so that the containers can be used for other purposes.

“Today, about 10 million cars worldwide are transported by car carriers, and another one million are shipped in containers,” said Alexis Michel, vice-president container logistics.

“Flexible, and easy to use, this CMA CGM innovation will strengthen the use of containers in car transport and logistics, particularly in developing nations.”

The first lot of 200 car-carrying FEUs is being built and is scheduled to be added to the fleet in late August 2007. CMA CGMplans to purchase additional car-carrying containers by the end of the year, to meet its customers’ needs.