Borderlands Mexico: Eagle pass, Texas Port emerges as fastest-growing US border crossing

Borderlands provides a weekly overview of events concerning cross-border trucking and trade between the United States and Mexico. This week's highlights include the Port of Eagle Pass, Texas, emerging as the fastest-growing border crossing in the US; the Port of Brownsville securing the Westa flour mill; Siete Leguas Automotive inaugurating a $54 million factory in Durango, Mexico; and Customs and Border Protection intercepting an $18 million shipment of meth concealed within squash.

👉 Read more: Positive developments in US-Mexico cross-border trade and transportation

Eagle Pass, Texas: America's Fastest-Growing Border Crossing

EAGLE PASS, Texas — The Port of Eagle Pass leads the nation in rapid trade growth among U.S.-Mexico border crossings this year.

According to Census Bureau data analyzed by WorldCity, it is the fastest-growing major port among the country's 450 airports, seaports, and border crossings.

“No other border crossings are growing at the rate of Eagle Pass,” said Ken Roberts, CEO of Miami-based WorldCity, at the 4th annual Port of Eagle Pass Trade Summit on Thursday.

The Port of Eagle Pass, featuring a rail and vehicle bridge to Piedras Negras, Mexico, serves the city of about 28,000 people, located 140 miles southwest of San Antonio.

From January through March, Eagle Pass has registered over $11.37 billion in trade, marking a 22% increase compared to the same period last year. In 2023, the Port of Eagle Pass recorded a total of $37.14 billion in two-way trade with the world.

While Eagle Pass was the fastest-growing border crossing in the U.S., Port Laredo, Texas, remains the No. 1 ranked port in the country. From January through March, Laredo recorded a 2% year-over-year increase in two-way trade with the world to $79.8 billion.

Driving the Port of Eagle Pass’ growth in 2024 are imports of commercial vehicles ($2.5 billion), passenger vehicles ($2 billion), and beer ($906 million). The port’s top exports year to date are auto parts ($307 million), gasoline ($289 million), and soybeans ($215 million).

“The main reason that I’ve seen the growth in Eagle Pass in the past two years, specifically since September 2021, is related to rail,” Ben Escarcega, director of contract logistics and transportation at Yusen Logistics, said during the summit.

Escarcega was part of a panel discussion titled “The Future of Eagle Pass Automotive Exports and Imports.” Yusen Logistics is a Tokyo-based global freight forwarding company that provides warehousing, distribution, and supply-chain services.

For the first three months of 2024, imports of passenger vehicles from Mexico to the U.S. through the Port of Eagle Pass rose 110% year over year.

“When Canadian Pacific, Kansas City Southern, and Kansas City Southern de Mexico merged, that made a significant impact in the market,” Escarcega said. “Then Union Pacific aligned with Ferromex, which I consider to be the biggest reason for the growth of the border region here in Eagle Pass.”

Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern officially merged in April 2023, forming CPKC (NYSE: CP). The combined network spans across both coasts of Canada, traversing through the U.S. Midwest, and reaches several points in Mexico, including the Port of Lazaro Cardenas on Mexico’s Pacific coast. CPKC has said the network offers single-line service to shippers.

About the same time the CPKC merger was finalized, Union Pacific Railroad (NYSE: UNP) announced a new line called Falcon Premium Intermodal Service. The intermodal service is a partnership with CN (NYSE: CNI) and Grupo Mexico’s Ferromex rail service, creating connecting points in Mexico and Canada through Eagle Pass and Chicago.

“Now Yusen uses the [Port of Eagle Pass] more than ever, especially for these commodities,” Escarcega said. “The presence of Union Pacific and especially the investment Union Pacific has made here in Eagle Pass, as well as in San Antonio, is going to continue to support this port. Ferromex is the only rail connecting Piedras Negras to Eagle Pass. That relationship is paramount to the growth of this port now and moving forward.”

Union Pacific and track tenant BNSF Railway currently operate 15 to 18 trains daily across the Eagle Pass-Piedras Negras International Railway Bridge.

A second rail and truck bridge has been proposed in Eagle Pass, a project known as the Puerto Verde Global Trade Bridge. It would construct a second cross-border rail and truck freight bridge between Eagle Pass and Piedras Negras, adding more freight capacity to the port.

To keep its momentum growing, real estate expert Carlo Molano said the Port of Eagle Pass must stay focused on the commodities that are already flowing through the region.

“Don’t chase after another city, don’t chase Laredo, don’t chase San Antonio; you have your own strengths. You have to look at your strengths and your weaknesses, understand them and play off of them. Don’t try to become something that you’re not. Become a better version of who you are,” Molano said during a panel discussion titled “The Future of Eagle Pass Industrial Real Estate.”

Port of Brownsville Secures Westa Flour Mill Deal

Westa Inc. is set to invest $20 million in constructing a wheat flour mill at the Port of Brownsville, as announced by the port authorities.

Westa will develop over 10 acres at the Port of Brownsville Business Park, marking its first tenancy. The new facility is expected to create 120 jobs.

Zaur Kafkas, president of Westa Inc., cited the port’s strategic location, top-tier facilities, and dependable service as key factors for the expansion in a news release.

Kafkas revealed to World-Grain.com that the first phase of the flour mill’s construction is slated for completion in 2025.

Located at the turning basin of the Brownsville Ship Channel, the Port of Brownsville Business Park is projected to open by year’s end.

Westa Inc., a wholesaler in the food industry, specializes in food products and agricultural commodities, with corporate offices in Miami and Toronto.

Siete Leguas Automotive Launches $54 Million Factory in Durango, Mexico

Siete Leguas Automotive has launched its second auto-parts factory in Gomez Palacios, located in Durango, Mexico.

The $54 million plant will manufacture components for original equipment manufacturers, including Caterpillar Inc., John Deere, Suzuki Motor Corp., BRP Inc., and Eaton Cummins Automated Transmission Technologies.

This expansion will generate 300 jobs, raising the combined workforce of both plants to nearly 500 employees.

Founded in 2018, Siete Leguas Automotive is headquartered in Gomez Palacio.

CBP Seizes $18 Million Worth of Meth Hidden in Squash Shipment

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers recently uncovered 11,469 pounds of methamphetamine in a truck at the Otay Mesa port of entry, just south of San Diego.

The incident happened on Monday when CBP officers were inspecting a tractor-trailer from Mexico transporting a shipment of squash.

Officers discovered 1,419 packages hidden within the squash shipment, containing $18 million worth of methamphetamine.

CBP officers seized the drugs and the tractor-trailer. The driver was handed over to Homeland Security Investigations.