Brownsville, TX

Texas Border Facts Fall 2018

2017 Top 5 Exports 2017 Top 5 Imports Customs Port - Brownsville

Electrical Machinery; Equipment and Parts Vehicles Other than Railway $1.8 Billion $1.5 Billion

Mineral Fuels; Oils and Waxes Electrical Machinery; Equipment and Parts $1.8 Billion $1.4 Billion $6.5 Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates Port-of-Entry (POE) $8.9 Billion Billion There are four border crossings in the Brownsville region that allow the cross- border movement of privately operated vehicles, pedestrians, buses, commercial Plastics and Articles Furniture; Lamps and Prefab Buildings $902 Million trucks, or rail cars. Each of these bridges connect Brownsville to its sister city, $693 Million Matamoros, in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.

Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates Computers Related Machinery Computers Related Machinery Open since 1999, Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates is the primary $646 Million $553 Million commercial vehicle crossing in the Brownsville region, processing all northbound trucks. The bridge is part of a designated “heavy truck corridor” that allows permitted, overweight trucks to travel between Mexico and the Port of Brownsville. The bridge also serves privately operated vehicles, buses, and pedestrians. Vehicles Other than Railway Plastics and Articles $556 Million $250 Million Gateway International Bridge The Gateway International Bridge serves all southbound commercial vehicles and 2017 Northbound Crossings privately operated vehicles, as well as pedestrians, travel in both directions. The Gateway International Bridge Bridge is also a segment of the “heavy truck corridor” for southbound commercial vehicles. Brownsville & Matamoros (B&M) Bridge The B&M Bridge is the only privately owned crossing in the Brownsville region. 4,859,573 2,761,819 88,971 228,188 6,476 Since 1999, the bridge no longer handles commercial traffic but serves privately Personal Vehicles Pedestrians Railcars Commercial Trucks Buses operated vehicles and pedestrians. Its adjacent rail bridge ceased handling rail cars in 2015. 2017 Southbound Crossings Brownsville West Rail Bridge When it opened in 2015, the Brownsville West Rail Bridge was the first new rail crossing on the River in more than 100 years. The crossing was built on the western side of Brownsville and Matamoros to reduce the number of at- grade crossings within both cities. The Brownsville West Rail Bridge is the only rail crossing serving the Lower Rio Grande Valley region. 3,318,754 2,188,050 233,993 6,653 Personal Vehicles Pedestrians Commercial Vehicles Buses Southbound railcar counts not available. Traffic counts do not include southbound crossings at the B&M Bridge. Brownsville,

Growth in Northbound Truck and Railcar Crossings between 1996 and 2017 350,000

300,000

250,000

200,000 Truck + 1% 150,000 Railway + 75%

100,000

50,000

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Trucks Railcars

In 2017, total U.S.-Mexico trade was valued at $557 billion. Of that amount, $336 billion worth of trade crossed at the Texas-Mexico border. Within the Brownsville region, $15.4 billion of goods crossed the Texas-Mexico border, with exports surpassing imports over the past ten years. One-fifth of the region’s binational trade (exports and imports) consisted of electrical machinery, equipment, and parts. Other important export commodities were fuels; plastics; computer related machinery and parts; and automobiles and parts. Key import commodities were automobiles and parts; furniture; computer related machinery and parts, and plastics.

$10,000 $9,000 2017 Cross-Border Trade by $8,000 Surface Transportation Mode $7,000 M 94% of Imports I L $6,000 L I $5,000 O 77% of Exports N $4,000 S $3,000

$2,000 5% of Imports

$1,000 6% of Exports 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 11% of Exports were by Pipeline. 4% of exports and 1% of imports were by air. 2% Exports Imports of exports were by vessel.

Maintaining and expanding trade with Mexico is critical to the ’s current and long- term economic prosperity. Texas’s trade transportation system has an essential role in maintaining the efficient flow of goods between the two nations. Texas’s Border Trade Advisory Committee, in conjunction with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), is providing the state’s elected officials with information and insight for key policy, planning, and funding decisions to facilitate future binational trade.

All data in this fact sheet are from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ Transborder Freight Data and Border Crossing/Entry Data, and Cameron County.