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The Port of Brownsville along with the entire trucking industry is honoring the millions of professional truck drivers who work to deliver America’s freight safely and securely every day.

During National Truck Driver Appreciation Week (Sept. 9-13), the Port of Brownsville will offer free breakfast and lunch to truck drivers doing business with the port. The port also partnered with the Cameron County Regional Mobility Authority to distribute 500 giveaway bags to truck drivers at the Foust and SH 550 entrances.

On a daily basis the Port of Brownsville welcomes 800 to 1,000 trucks that enter the port to pick up cargo and deliver it across the nation. The types of commodities they carry- petroleum based products, sugar, salt, windmill components and steal- serve as the backbone of several industries in the U.S.

There are more than 3.5 million professional truck drivers nationwide – delivering everything from food to local grocery stores to books to neighborhood schools. These professional men and women log close to 724 billion miles annually and last year, delivered over 70% of the U.S. freight tonnage – or 10.77 billion tons. 80 percent of U.S. communities depend solely on the trucking industry for their goods and commodities.

To learn more about how essential truck drivers are to their communities and the economy, visit https://www.trucking.org/Appreciation_Week.aspx.

On a daily basis the Port of Brownsville welcomes 800 to 1,000 trucks that enter the port to pick up cargo and deliver it across the nation.

In June of this year, the Port of Brownsville ordered two new mobile harbor cranes increasing its dockside handling capacity as the seaport experiences higher cargo volumes across its range of services.

The two new Konecranes Gottwald Model 6 mobile harbor cranes will be delivered to the port fully assembled and commissioned, ready to begin work as early as December 2019. The cranes will handle a wide variety of cargo including breakbulk, bulk products, heavy project cargo and steel products.

The Model 6 cranes have advanced mobile harbor crane drive technology from Konecranes that meets EPA Tier 4f emission standards, helping the Port of Brownsville reduce its environmental footprint.

“The Port of Brownsville continues to invest significantly in its continued growth, including expansion of our on-dock lifting capacity,” said Eduardo A. Campirano, Port Director and CEO of the Port of Brownsville. “We look forward to the operational and environmental performance that the Konecranes Gottwald Model 6 offers as we continue to serve our rapidly growing customer base.”

Giuseppe Di Lisa, Sales and Marketing Director of Konecranes’ Business Unit Mobile Harbor Cranes, said: “The two new cranes are the right choice for the Port of Brownsville, which needs to increase its handling performance while reducing its impact on the environment without sacrificing versatility and flexibility. These mobile harbor cranes will come into their own in this port, which handles many different types of cargo.”

The new Konecranes drive concept for mobile harbor cranes combines, depending on the crane model, Volvo Penta 625 kW diesel engines and 125 kW ultracap modules. This concept includes SCR exhaust technology as an option, meeting EPA Tier 4f and EU Stage V emission standards. This pacesetting drive technology with its downsized diesel engine will be introduced in phases across the entire Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbor crane portfolio.

The Port of Brownsville’s new Model 6 cranes will be G HMK 6507 two-rope variants featuring a powerful lifting curve with a maximum lifting capacity of 125 tons and an outreach of up to 167 feet.

To maximize uptime, the cranes will be equipped with a remote access function giving the customer and the Konecranes service team access to operating and diagnostics data around the clock without interrupting crane operation.

The Port of Brownsville’s new Model 6 cranes will be G HMK 6507 two-rope variants featuring a powerful lifting curve with a maximum lifting capacity of 125 tons and an outreach of up to 167 feet.

By John Reed

Chairman Brownsville Navigation District

The latest economic impact report shows that the Port of Brownsville generated $3 billion in annual economic activity that produced $201 million in tax revenues and supported more than 51,000 jobs across Texas. And we’re just getting started.

As the only deep-water port on the US-Mexico border, the Port of Brownsville is a unique resource in the complex world of logistics. We are strategically located close to major manufacturing centers, energy sources and agriculture markets in both the United States and Mexico. We have convenient rail and interstate highway access into both countries, connecting shippers and producers with markets around the world. We support more than 230 companies currently operating at the port, providing a reliable base for local jobs, taxes and economic activity for the entire region. And unlike most ports, we have ample available land that is needed to support large-scale operations like ship recycling, transit of massive wind-power turbines, and heavy manufacturing. We have 40,000 acres and 17 miles of waterfront access, allowing us to carefully balance economic and environmental priorities to provide a safe, secure and sustainable center for international trade.

But the latest economic impact figures do not tell the whole story.

This year, we will inaugurate an additional liquid cargo dock to support the growing demand for energy products. We will open a rehabilitated bulk cargo dock that will create new opportunities for the movement of grain and other agricultural products. And we will open a new staging platform that facilitates shipbuilding operations, putting Brownsville on the global map as a growing maritime manufacturing center.

With the backdrop of these exciting developments, we await the careful regulatory approvals for a series of additional investments to bring new energy operations to the port that will create even more career opportunities and economic opportunities for generations throughout the Rio Grande Valley – beyond the 8,500 who currently have jobs related to the port. We await final decisions surrounding a potential new state-of-the-art steel mill that would create additional long-term economic opportunities. These potential investments total almost $40 billion, positioning Brownsville to be perhaps the most active center of economic development in Texas and beyond.

To support this increased activity, we continue to prepare for the deepening of our ship channel to 52 feet from the current 42 – opening up opportunities for larger vessels from around the world. This project will be an innovative partnership between public, private and federal funding to responsibly share costs while making a significant investment in the future.

While today’s economic impact report is very impressive, indeed, we remain very excited about the opportunities ahead as our recent investments begin to generate new growth and new jobs. We await approvals on future investments, knowing that – as shown in the report – our success here radiates throughout the Rio Grande Valley and the State of Texas.

We’re just getting started, at the port that works.

Port Director and CEO Eduardo A. Campirano was recently a guest on KURV’s radio show “The Valley’s Morning News”.

Campirano spoke about the Port of Brownsville’s economic impact in the Rio Grande Valley as reported by an independent analysis conducted by Martin Associates.  The report shows that the Port of Brownsville serves as a major economic driver in the development of jobs and revenue in the Rio Grande Valley.

“The port does have a very significant impact not only in the region, but also contributes greatly overall to the maritime industry in the state of Texas.” said Campirano.

Listen to the interview HERE

According to the Independent analysis conducted by Martin Associates, the Port of Brownsville is responsible for the creation of 8,500 jobs directly or indirectly related to port activity

In June Signet Maritime celebrated 21 years of tugboat operations at the Port of Brownsville

The company’s full-service navigation center at the Brownsville ship channel provides ship, barge and rig movements as well as harbor tugboat operations since 1998. The Brownsville fleet includes three tugboats, the Signet Defender, Signet Ranger and the Signet Magic. These high-powered tugs assist ships and barges, often more than ten times their size, navigate through the 17-mile long ship channel.

The port’s intermodal expansion and continued growth have led to a higher demand for Signet’s services.

“As the years go by, we are starting to have bigger ships and bigger barges, oil rigs and new demand for more power,” said Ida Treviño, Signet Maritime Operations Manager. Treviño has worked with the company since its inception at the Port of Brownsville.

“Tugboat captains are on call for 24 hours and are required to assist with traffic in all-weather while maintaining safe conditions and guidelines.” Said Reyes Martinez Captain and Senior Manager at Signet Maritime.

The company operates with the highest management standards, placing special emphasis on safety while fostering a friendly atmosphere to its employees.

“It’s a family-oriented business,” Treviño said. “It’s very nice to work here because everyone wants to work here. Mr. and Mrs. Snyder, the owners of the company, are very supportive, which is why we’re all here. We’re very comfortable with Signet,” Treviño said.

Headquartered in Houston, Signet boasts six full service navigation centers in the U.S., as well as an international operations center in Dubai, UAE.

Signet Martime’s fleet at the Port of Brownsville Includes three tugboats, the Signet Defender, Signet Ranger and the Signet Magic.