Our Strategic Advantage
A major center for intermodal transportation and industrial development, the Port of Brownsville is the only deepwater seaport directly on the U.S./Mexico border. Opened in 1936, at the southernmost tip of Texas and connected to the Gulf of Mexico by a 17-mile-long ship channel, the Port of Brownsville is also the largest land-owning public port authority in the nation with approximately 40,000 acres.
As a bulk and break bulk commodity port, the Port of Brownsville has developed a versatile marine terminal operation for both liquid and dry cargoes. Refined petroleum products such as natural gas, diesel, heavy naphta and lubricants, steel bulk materials, ores, scrap, sand, limestone, grains, windmill components, space industry components, among other project cargo are some of the many commodities handled here.
The Port of Brownsville is recognized worldwide as the premier U.S. port for ship recycling and is home to the largest U.S. fabricator of offshore drilling platforms and Jones Act vessels. Other services found at the port include bulk terminaling for liquids, break bulk heavy lift in project cargo, steel fabrication, storage, crane services, towing and tug services among others.
Facilities
Businesses use our exceptional facilities to transport cargo to markets around the world.
Approximately
40,000
acres of land
1+ million sq. ft.
covered storage
3+ million sq. ft.
open storage
6 liquid cargo docks
13 cargo docks
Main channel depth
The Brownsville Ship Channel has a current design depth of 42 feet. The Turning Basin, has a current design depth of 36 feet and a width of 1,200 feet. The Port of Brownsville is currently undergoing a project to deepen its channel to 52 feet.
Land available for development
The port owns approximately 40,000 acres (16,187 hectares) of land available for development. Developed and undeveloped sites are available in the port’s Turning Basin for cargo facilities, industrial sites, expansion, relocation, manufacturing, greenfield projects, and more.
Distribution and Logistics
The Port of Brownsville offers multiple modes of transportation, including ocean-going vessels, all major U.S. and Mexican truck lines, rail service, barge service via the U.S. Intracoastal and Inland Waterway System, pipeline access to U.S. and Mexican terminals, and air freight service at the Brownsville/South Padre Island International Airport.
Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
The port is part of the M-10 and M-69 Marine Highway corridors. This provides shippers economical options of transporting cargo with service routes from the Port of Brownsville along designated marine highways, and the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway.
Overweight corridor
To facilitate the movement of cargo to and from Mexico, the Port of Brownsville issues permits online to shippers allowing them to load trucks to the legal weight limits of Mexico. This provides the most efficient and cost-effective movement of cargo by trucks to destinations in Mexico, eliminating double handling.
45 miles of on-port rail
The Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway (BRG) provides efficient and reliable rail service to all businesses at the Port of Brownsville. The BRG offers direct interchange with UP, BNSF and CPCK. CPKC serves as UP’s intermediate switch to and from Mexico. In 2014, OmniTRAX Inc. under agreement, has managed the BRG enhancing services for port rail users while aiming to attract new shippers in the manufacturing and distribution industries.
Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ) No. 62
The Port of Brownsville is the grantee for Foreign Trade Zone No. 62, one of the largest FTZs in Texas. It offers sites at the port and throughout Cameron County including the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport, Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Harlingen Industrial Park and Airpark, NAFTA Industrial Park in Brownsville, and FINSA Industrial Park at Los Indios. Zone status is available at any of the port’s properties. For the last 12 years, FTZ No. 62 has ranked in the top three out of 193 foreign trade zones in the United States for value of exported cargo.
Best in the U.S. 2023
* Foreign Trade Zone No. 62 is ranked No. 3 in the nation for the value of exports
* Ranked No. 14 overall among all FTZs in the nation for the value of imports
* Exported commodities valued at $7 Billion
* Imported commodities valued at $3.2 Billion
* Top 3 commodities: petroleum products, steel and metals