Whether it’s cross-town or across the globe, Texas boasts a transportation infrastructure that’s rightfully achieving worldwide acclaim.

The state has long supported a solid network of highways and railroads for moving goods. Now with enhanced international access at its airports and ports, Texas has truly become a gateway to the United States for global shippers, as well as an exit port for U.S. goods heading to Mexico, Central America, South America and overseas.

Much of this infrastructure has come online despite lean economic times. That’s a testament not only to the state’s recognition of the economic development value of multimodal transportation hubs, but also to its thriving public-private partnerships.

Consider the Alliance Global Logistics Hub. The Hillwood-developed property, part of a larger, master community, began life in 1987 as a supplemental airport to overcrowded Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, but instead has morphed into an industrial hub for air, rail and road shippers. Last year it was the nation’s No. 1 Foreign Trade Zone, processing more than $5 billion in goods.

“It grew into a bigger idea,” says Mike Berry, president of Hillwood Properties. “We began to talk to the market about what the airport-infrastructure needs were for north Texas, and as we talked to defense contractors, manufacturers and airlines, we saw the need for a major industrial airport.”

The facility houses everything from international headquarters to satellite operations for such major players as Lockheed Martin, Bell, JC Penney, FedEx, American and Southwest airlines and many more. The original 4,000-foot runway was expanded to 10,000 feet, and so can handle monsters like Boeing’s new 747-800, one of which recently spent a few days at the facility for testing.

“This industrial airport has become something very unique and very different,” Berry says. “We worked to develop good highway and rail systems to and through here, as well as good port connectivity. And now we draw companies that want to be around this integration of multimodal transportation infrastructure.”

"North Texas has become the demographic center of North America,” says Hillwood Chairman Ross Perot Jr. “If you look at all of North America as a trading block, you certainly would want to have your company located in North Texas. We're in the middle of the country in a pro-growth state with no state income tax, where there is a strong workforce, a strong transportation system and a beautiful quality of life.”

Port of Houston, BNSF Railway Play Key Roles

The state includes 13 deep-water ports and 29 ports overall, including the Port of Houston, a 25-mile stretch of public and private facilities. The port is the country’s top-ranked harbor for foreign waterborne tonnage and seventh-largest container port. More than 220 million tons of cargo moved through the port in 2009 alone.

Corpus Christi is home to the sixth-largest port in the United States in total tonnage and a sophisticated multimodal transportation infrastructure. The port includes a 45-foot channel depth, 300,000 square feet of covered dockside storage, truck and rail access and a Foreign Trade Zone.

The port has undertaken an ambitious expansion program, including the La Quinta Trade Gateway Terminal, which will be developed on a 1,100-acre greenfield site on the north side of Corpus Christi Bay. When completed, the multi-purpose dock and container facility will be capable of handling 1 million 20-foot-equivalent unit (TEUs) shipping containers a year. 

As it does in many categories, Texas leads the nation in total rail miles, with 10,804, and 44 rail carriers in the state carry more than 384 million tons of freight each year.

Fort Worth-based BNSF Railway Co. is one of North America's leading freight transportation companies, operating on 32,000 route miles of track in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. 

Matt Rose, BNSF chairman, president and CEO, says Fort Worth is well positioned to serve as a national business center and transportation hub.

"A friendly business climate has meant a great deal to BNSF and our growth here," he says. "Fort Worth and Texas are a key part of our network. We operate on nearly 5,000 route miles of track and originate or handle nearly 6 million carloads of freight in the state.Between our headquarters in Fort Worth and our operations in the rest of the state we employ nearly 7,500 Texans with a payroll of more than $785 million."

Laredo Thrives as Inland Port

Texas has 28 official border ports of entry, more than any other state, providing direct access to the markets of Mexico and Latin America.

The Logistics & Manufacturing Association of Port Laredo makes the most of Laredo’s strategic location, and works to expand its import-export footprint in many ways, says Javier Garza, president.

“Laredo is the busiest inland port on the U.S.-Mexico border, and the second busiest in the United States,” Garza says. “And Nuevo Laredo, across the river and border, is the busiest port in Latin America. International trade is our livelihood, and railroads, trucking, any way we can build our infrastructure we look to make happen. Everything that we can do, and we get a lot of help from our local and state governments, we do to keep encouraging that growth.”

Berry puts it even more simply.

“Developing a state-of-the-art transportation system in Texas is the most important thing we can do,” he says. “Our state alone is one of the top economies in the world, and we are continuing to make sure that all our economic centers are linked together by efficient highway, rail, port and airport activity.”