Port of Brownsville ends year strong, sidestepping tariffs and expecting steady cargo through 2026

Over the past four years, the Port of Brownsville has seen a steady increase in total cargo, the port’s top leader told customers during a luncheon Thursday afternoon. 

In 2020, the port moved 11.6 million metric tons through vessels, trucks, and via pipeline. Since then, it has more than doubled that number, rising to 13.9 million in 2021, 15.2 million in 2022, 18.1 million in 2023, and 28 million in 2024. 

And that trajectory is expected to remain steady, but not break another cargo record this fiscal year, port officials said. The port’s 2025 fiscal year began Oct. 1 and doesn’t end until Sept. 30, 2026. 

“We expect to finish this year with equally strong performance,” said William Dietrich, CEO of the Port of Brownsville. “And let’s keep in mind, most ports in the United States are 13% down [in cargo], we didn’t suffer that.”

The Port of Brownsville exported $8.22 billion in commodities worldwide between January and August 2024, compared to $8.19 billion this year, according to U.S. trade data. 

The port also imported $7.23 billion through August, up from $7.18 billion in 2024. 

“I don’t know if it will equate to [higher] tonnage, but it will equate to a higher fiscal stance,” Dietrich told the Rio Grande Valley Business Journal. “When the tariffs came in, we didn’t know what was going to happen. We didn’t understand how that was going to impact the Port of Brownsville. But we pivoted really quickly. Our steveadores and our tenants went out, and we were able to sidestep the tariffs here.” 

One notable tenant is Houston-based NextDecade Corp., which operates the Rio Grande LNG facility. The company leases more than 980 acres for its liquefied natural gas export terminal. It expects to build at least five supercooled natural gas facilities on the site – one of the most significant construction projects in Texas right now. 

A new tenant at the port will be Turkish shipbuilder Karpowership; its U.S. subsidiary, Karpower Valley LLC, is expected to take over the Seatrium AmFELS lease. 

“Right now, the projection is that they are going to invest $3.5 billion into the current facility,” Dietrich said. “They are then going to expand their footprint, and this will bring consistent shipbuilding to the Rio Grande Valley, along with power generation and the other components that come along with Karpowership.” 

To keep up with an expected pipeline of $30 billion in future investment across the 40,000-acre port, the board approved $169 million of infrastructure improvements. 

One of those projects under construction is the $40 million renovation of Cargo Dock 3, $11.5 million of which was paid by a grant from the Texas Department of Transportation’s Maritime Division. The 17-mile-long Brownsville Ship Channel has also been deepened from 42 to 52 feet. 

“I expect a better year in 2026. I think we learned to maneuver around a world with tariffs. We’ve looked for other opportunities looking more north. Ninety percent of our business before last year went to Mexico; now we’re looking to stabilise and diversify our portfolio,” Dietrich said.