The group's note was lowered by one notch to BB+ from BBB-. Senior unsecured debt was downgraded two notches to BB-. The agency said its outlook for the carrier was stable but expected growth in container shipping to slow because of the deteriorating global economic environment, and the delivery of new capacity.
It also expects CMA CGM's operating margin to "deteriorate gradually" in the coming quarters. The carrier earlier warned that its 2008 results will fall below the previous year's performance.