BROWNSVILLE, Texas - The Rio South Texas Economic council recently hosted a webinar fearing four sea/water ports in southern Texas and northern Tamaulipas.
The title of the webinar was: Rio South Texas Virtual Visit: Sea Connectivity.
The four ports were: the Port of Brownsville, with commentary by Eduardo Campirano; the Port of Harlingen, with commentary by Raudel Garza; the Port of Matamoros, with commentary by Arturo Gomez; and the Port of Port Isabel, with commentary by Steve Bearden.
Also on the webinar was Rick Sharp, of Online Transportation International. The moderator for the webinar was Matt Ruszczak, executive director of the Rio South Texas Economic Council.
The audience featured site selectors from Europe.
Welcome to the Port of Brownsville, known around the world as the Port that Works. My name is Eduardo A. Campirano and I am the port director and CEO and I am your host for today.
The Port of Brownsville opened in May 1936 and is the largest land-owning public port authority in the United States with approximately 40,000 acres. The port is the only deep-water sea port located directly on the U.S.-Mexico border, offering unrivaled access to markets on both sides of the border. Mot importantly, we are the closest deep-water port severing Mexico’s industrial centers in Monterrey - a prime manufacturing base for auto-making, consumer electronics and home appliances.
Eduardo A. CampiranoThe Port of Brownsville is a versatile, marine terminal operation, supporting businesses dependent on a wide range of cargos. Refined petroleum products, bulk steel materials like slab and cold- and hot-rolled steel coils, ore, scrap steel, sand, sugar, cement, windmill components and limestone are some of the many commodities handled here. And an emerging container on barge service between Brownsville and Tampa, Florida, provides efficient connections between east and mid-west United States, via the I-95 and I-75 corridors.
The port’s facilities include one million-plus square feet of covered storages, three-million square feet of open storage, six liquid cargo docks, along with 13 general cargo docks, providing a safe, secure and environmentally responsible location for international trade as a top priority.
The Port of Brownsville offers and supports multiple modes of transportation, including ocean-going vessels, all major U.S. and Mexican truck lines, rail service throughout all of North America, with a focus on Mexico, barge service and pipeline access to U.S. and Mexican terminals.
The Brownsville Ship Channel is being deepened from a depth of 42 feet to 52 feet, which will support a broader range of cargo ships and aligns with the recent expansion of the Panama Canal, allowing bigger ships to call on the port. When complete, the port will become one of the deepest ports on the Gulf of Mexico and will be able to accommodate deeper draught cargo vessels carrying heavier loads.
Another example of our commitment to shippers is a process pioneered at the Port of Brownsville that allows trucks to load to the legal weight limits of Mexico while entering or leaving the port along an overweight corridor. Trucks may utilize the corridor weighing up to 125,000 pounds, 45,000 pounds heavier than domestic loads while saving time and money by eliminating costly double-handling.
The Port of Brownsville is committed to working with the regional community to drive growth and economic prosperity. A 2019 economic impact study found that activity generated by the Port of Brownsville results in three billion dollars in annual economic impact and produces $201 million in tax revenue, supporting more than 51,000 jobs across the state, including 8,500 in the Rio Grande Valley.
Many of those jobs are found at Keppel AmFELS, the port’s leading employer. Keppel has recently reintroduced shipbuilding into the state of Texas and is currently building two 774-foot long U.S. flag container ship, expected to be delivered by mid-2021.
At the Port of Brownsville we are grateful for the progress we have made and the economic leadership we’ve achieved for the Rio Grande Valley and the state of Texas. We are proud of the reputation we have built at the Port that Works with businesses, shippers and our hometown of Brownsville, Texas. We are proud to be the Port that Works for everyone.
Editor’s Note: The above commentary was made by Eduardo A. Campirano, port director and CEO at the Port of Brownsville. Campirano gave the presentation during a recent webinar hosted by Rio South Texas Economic Council. The webinar focused on four sea/water ports: the Port of Brownsville; the Port of Harlingen, with commentary by Raudel Garza; the Port of Matamoros, with commentary by Arturo Gomez; and the Port of Port Isabel, with commentary by Steve Bearden. The moderator for the webinar was Matt Ruszczak, executive director of the Rio South Texas Economic Council.
Editor's Note: The main image accompanying the above podcast and commentary features the Port of Matamoros.
