BROWNSVILLE, Texas – Eduardo Campirano, port director for Brownsville Navigation District, recently gave a detailed overview of all the industrial activity that occurs at the Port of Brownsville.
Campirano was one of the keynote speakers at an eagerly-anticipated 2023 SelectUSA Investment Summit Spinoff. The event, held at the Brownsville Museum of Fine Arts, was co-hosted by the Greater Brownsville Incentives Corporation.
Campirano pointed out that the Port of Brownsville is the only deep water seaport directly on the US-Mexico border.
“When I say directly on the border, I mean we are seamlessly, with the exception of the river, on the US-Mexico border,” Campirano told visitors from across the globe. “We’re not a few miles up the coast. We’re not within driving distance, 200 miles up the coast. We are on the US-Mexico border. And that really speaks to a lot about what the port does, and the port’s history and everything that goes into supporting the economy of la frontera between the US and Mexico.”
Campirano spoke about the huge amount of steel that is exported to Mexico via his port.
“Possibly close to 90% of our loaded cargo is going south. And why is that? Because of the business we do for our customers in Monterrey,” Campirano said.
By way of example he referenced Ternium de Mexico.
“Our number one customer on the dry bulk side is a company called Ternium de Mexico. They are the the premier steel provider to Mexico. Who are their customers? The automobile industry, the white appliance industry, the construction industry. But, where does the feedstock of the steel that goes to the mills to produce that product for their customers come from? Well, guess what, it comes through the Port of Brownsville,” Campirano said.
“For Ternium alone last year we shipped 4.6 million tons of slab, only slab, which are huge pieces of steel that then go to the mill that they build down for their customers’ use. And this year we will probably exceed five million. And in 2024 it will peak at about six million tons. Eighty percent of the steel that they need to operate the Pesquería plant in Monterrey comes through the Port of Brownsville.”
Campirano also explained how the Port of Brownsville is connected by water to major industrial hubs in the northern parts of the United States.
“You have the Gulf Intercostal Waterway that connects Brownsville all the way to the Panhandle of Florida along the coast and at New Orleans and at Mobile to Middle America.”
Campirano said the example he likes to use is US Steel.
“How do you connect the Pittsburgh area, for example, to Brownsville by water? Well, one of the ways we do it is through the inland waterway system that connects to the Gulf Intercostal Waterway in New Orleans. That comes all the way to Brownsville. US Steel, an iconic US company, has been using our port for 30 years. And what they do is they shift by river barge down the river system, all the way around to Brownsville, on the coast, a high grade, almost like a stainless steel coil for a company in San Luis Potosi that is in the automobile industry, that is in the white appliance industry, that’s in the medical instrumentation industry. And that is their customer. Well, that’s how we connect the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, area to Brownsville by water.”
Editor’s Note: Eduardo Campirano’s power point presentation to SelectUSA’s investment summit attendees was almost 30 minutes in length. So, the Rio Grande Guardian International News Service has split our video recording into three parts. Here is Part One:
Video
Editor’s Note: Part Two of our video feature on Eduardo Campirano’s power point presentation at the SelectUSA event in Brownsville will appear in our May 9 edition.
Quality journalism takes time, effort and…. Money!
Producing quality journalism is not cheap. The coronavirus has resulted in falling revenues across the newsrooms of the United States. However, The Rio Grande Guardian International News Service is committed to producing quality news reporting on the issues that matter to border residents. The support of our members is vital in ensuring our mission gets fulfilled.
Can we count on your support? If so, click HERE. Thank you!
