# Brownsville (US BRO)

**UN/LOCODE:** US BRO  
**Country:** United States  
**Water Body:** Gulf of Mexico; North Atlantic Ocean  
**Harbor Size:** Small  
**Harbor Type:** Canal or Lake  
**GPS:** 25.9500, -97.4000

Three ship-recycling firms — All Star Metals, International Shipbreaking/EMR and SteelCoast — make Brownsville the premier U.S. port for dismantling decommissioned Navy and MARAD vessels, handling over 85 percent of that national business; the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy entered the channel for recycling in February 2025. Beyond this niche, the port on the Brownsville Ship Channel moves steel in large volumes (above four million tons), alongside liquid bulk, dry bulk and breakbulk project cargo such as wind-energy components. Sitting just inland from the Gulf of Mexico near the Mexican border at Matamoros, it functions as an industrial gateway for U.S.–Mexico manufacturing trade rather than a container hub. Forwarders shipping boxes generally route through Houston instead. Rail service comes via the Brownsville & Rio Grande International Railway, which interchanges directly with UP, BNSF and CPKC, with much of the recovered steel railed to Monterrey. For steel, heavy-lift and project cargo the port is a strong fit; for containerised freight it is not.

## Transit Times & Routes

- [Los Angeles → Shanghai](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shanghai)
- [Los Angeles → Shenzhen](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-shenzhen)
- [Los Angeles → Guangzhou](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-guangzhou)
- [Los Angeles → Hong Kong](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-hong-kong)
- [Los Angeles → Tokyo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-tokyo)
- [Los Angeles → Busan](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/transit-time/los-angeles-busan)

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*Freight Academy — Seaport Profile: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/brownsville-port-us-bro](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/seaports/brownsville-port-us-bro)*

*Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/brownsville-port-us-bro](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/seaports/en/brownsville-port-us-bro)*

*LLM-Summary (JSON): https://www.freight-academy.com/api/v1/seaports/brownsville-port-us-bro/llm-summary?lang=en*