7 prefixes · shipping line
CMA CGM container prefixes
Track on cma-cgm.com — official CMA CGM tracker
Full CMA CGM container tracking guide →
CMAU, CGMU, ECMU, APZU, APLU, APHU and CNCU are the BIC owner prefixes registered to CMA CGM. A container number that starts with any of them belongs to the CMA CGM fleet and is tracked free at cma-cgm.com. The eleventh character of the number is a check digit; it is worked out below for each prefix.
CMA CGM is the French giant out of Marseille, third by fleet size and owner of the APL brand it bought in 2016 plus the intra-Asia specialist CNC.
The register mirrors those deals: alongside the core CMA codes sit three APL-heritage prefixes and the CNC brand code, all tracked on the one cma-cgm.com system.
4 letters + 7 digits, printed on the doors. It is on your bill of lading too.
The answer appears as you type. Nothing is sent anywhere.
All 7 CMA CGM prefixes
| Prefix | A valid number | Check digit | Where the code comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
CMAU | CMAU 156868-5 | 5 | — |
CGMU | CGMU 396220-6 | 6 | — |
ECMU | ECMU 336383-5 | 5 | — |
APZU | APZU 944736-5 | 5 | APZU is APL heritage — American President Lines, part of CMA CGM since 2016. |
APLU | APLU 525869-3 | 3 | APLU carries the APL brand name itself; the boxes answer to CMA CGM’s tracker today. |
APHU | APHU 406193-1 | 1 | APHU is the third APL-era code still circulating inside the CMA CGM pool. |
CNCU | CNCU 236652-6 | 6 | CNCU belongs to CNC, CMA CGM’s intra-Asia brand (formerly Cheng Lie Navigation). |
Prefix register verified against two independent sources on 2026-08-03. The example numbers are computed to show the arithmetic. They are valid by construction, not numbers we saw on a box.
Data: BIC Container Prefix Register · ISO 6346:2022
CMAU: check digit, worked through
CMAU is registered to CMA CGM. Take CMAU 156868-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 13 | ×1 | 13 |
M | 24 | ×2 | 48 |
A | 10 | ×4 | 40 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
1 | 1 | ×16 | 16 |
5 | 5 | ×32 | 160 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
8 | 8 | ×128 | 1024 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
8 | 8 | ×512 | 4096 |
Sum 7573 → 7573 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → CMAU 156868-5
CGMU: check digit, worked through
CGMU is registered to CMA CGM. Take CGMU 396220-6: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 6.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 13 | ×1 | 13 |
G | 17 | ×2 | 34 |
M | 24 | ×4 | 96 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
3 | 3 | ×16 | 48 |
9 | 9 | ×32 | 288 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
2 | 2 | ×128 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×256 | 512 |
0 | 0 | ×512 | 0 |
Sum 1887 → 1887 mod 11 = 6 → check digit 6 → CGMU 396220-6
ECMU: check digit, worked through
ECMU is registered to CMA CGM. Take ECMU 336383-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
E | 15 | ×1 | 15 |
C | 13 | ×2 | 26 |
M | 24 | ×4 | 96 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
3 | 3 | ×16 | 48 |
3 | 3 | ×32 | 96 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
3 | 3 | ×128 | 384 |
8 | 8 | ×256 | 2048 |
3 | 3 | ×512 | 1536 |
Sum 4889 → 4889 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → ECMU 336383-5
APZU: check digit, worked through
APZU is registered to CMA CGM. Take APZU 944736-5: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 5.
APZU is APL heritage — American President Lines, part of CMA CGM since 2016.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 10 | ×1 | 10 |
P | 27 | ×2 | 54 |
Z | 38 | ×4 | 152 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
9 | 9 | ×16 | 144 |
4 | 4 | ×32 | 128 |
4 | 4 | ×64 | 256 |
7 | 7 | ×128 | 896 |
3 | 3 | ×256 | 768 |
6 | 6 | ×512 | 3072 |
Sum 5736 → 5736 mod 11 = 5 → check digit 5 → APZU 944736-5
APLU: check digit, worked through
APLU is registered to CMA CGM. Take APLU 525869-3: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 3.
APLU carries the APL brand name itself; the boxes answer to CMA CGM’s tracker today.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 10 | ×1 | 10 |
P | 27 | ×2 | 54 |
L | 23 | ×4 | 92 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
5 | 5 | ×16 | 80 |
2 | 2 | ×32 | 64 |
5 | 5 | ×64 | 320 |
8 | 8 | ×128 | 1024 |
6 | 6 | ×256 | 1536 |
9 | 9 | ×512 | 4608 |
Sum 8044 → 8044 mod 11 = 3 → check digit 3 → APLU 525869-3
APHU: check digit, worked through
APHU is registered to CMA CGM. Take APHU 406193-1: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 1.
APHU is the third APL-era code still circulating inside the CMA CGM pool.
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 10 | ×1 | 10 |
P | 27 | ×2 | 54 |
H | 18 | ×4 | 72 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
4 | 4 | ×16 | 64 |
0 | 0 | ×32 | 0 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
1 | 1 | ×128 | 128 |
9 | 9 | ×256 | 2304 |
3 | 3 | ×512 | 1536 |
Sum 4808 → 4808 mod 11 = 1 → check digit 1 → APHU 406193-1
CNCU: check digit, worked through
CNCU is registered to CMA CGM. Take CNCU 236652-6: each of its first ten characters has a value and a weight, the products are added, and the remainder after dividing by 11 is the check digit — here 6.
CNCU belongs to CNC, CMA CGM’s intra-Asia brand (formerly Cheng Lie Navigation).
| Character | Value | Weight | Product |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 13 | ×1 | 13 |
N | 25 | ×2 | 50 |
C | 13 | ×4 | 52 |
U | 32 | ×8 | 256 |
2 | 2 | ×16 | 32 |
3 | 3 | ×32 | 96 |
6 | 6 | ×64 | 384 |
6 | 6 | ×128 | 768 |
5 | 5 | ×256 | 1280 |
2 | 2 | ×512 | 1024 |
Sum 3955 → 3955 mod 11 = 6 → check digit 6 → CNCU 236652-6
Tracking a CMA CGM container
Paste the number into the form at cma-cgm.com. We have not tested whether a link can carry the number there, so the checker on this page sends you to the form.
| Container number | ✓ yes |
|---|---|
| Bill of lading (B/L) | ✓ yes |
| Booking reference | ✓ yes |
| Mobile app | ✓ yes |
| Pre-filled link | not tried yet |
| Its bill of lading starts with | CMDU |
Browser-verified 2026-08-03
Can you see where the ship is?
Not from the container. A standard dry box has no power, no radio and no satellite receiver — it is a steel case with a number painted on it, and it reports nothing about itself. Every position you see against a CMA CGM shipment was reported by something else: a terminal crane, a gate reader, or the ship.
A live map on a carrier’s tracking page is almost always plotting AIS, the transponder every large vessel broadcasts with its position, course and speed. That is genuinely useful at sea: it is a real position rather than a schedule, and an ETA recalculated from actual movement. It is also the ship’s position, not your box’s, and the two part company the moment the container is discharged.
On land the map goes quiet. Between the gate-out and the delivery there is no vessel to follow, and the road leg appears only as whatever events the terminal and the trucker report. A container sitting on a chassis in a yard shows the last position of a ship it left days ago. Only specialised IoT equipment reports its own location, and wherever that exists it is a paid product sold to the shipper, not something a tracking page gives away.
Frequently asked questions
Who owns CMAU, CGMU and ECMU containers?
CMA CGM does, a shipping line founded in 1978 — the BIC register lists 7 owner prefixes under it: CMAU, CGMU, ECMU, APZU, APLU, APHU and CNCU.
How do I track a CMAU container?
Free, on the official CMA CGM tracker at cma-cgm.com — paste the full 11-character number; no account is needed. The same tracker serves all 7 CMA CGM prefixes.
Why does CMA CGM have 7 prefixes?
Because one prefix holds only a million serial numbers and a fleet outgrows it — and because a line that buys another line keeps the codes painted on the boxes it bought. All 7 are tracked on the same cma-cgm.com system.
Is CMAU a shipping line prefix or a leasing prefix?
A shipping line prefix — CMA CGM both owns the box and moves it, so the owner and the tracker are the same company.
Is CMAU1568685 a valid container number?
Yes — CMAU 156868-5 passes the ISO 6346 check: the weighted sum for CMAU156868 leaves a remainder of 5 when divided by 11, which gives check digit 5. It is an example computed for this page, not a box we have seen.
One page, every owner code
Know whose box it is before you search
All 85 owner prefixes mapped to their line or leasing company, with the leased ones marked — so you can tell at a glance when to track with the line instead. Container dimensions are on page two.
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