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McAllen has a total of 6 Industrial Parks: McAllen Southwest Industrial Area, Sharyland, Tres Puentes, Botelo, and McAllen Nearshoring Campus, which include the following industries: Automotive, Aerospace, Advanced Manufacturing, Medical Research, Cold Storage and Food Processing, Customer Contact Center, and Data Centers. The McAllen-Reynosa Binational Region makes up a total of 18 Industrial Parks.
Industrial parks in McAllen, Texas, play a significant role in the region’s economic growth and development. These parks are home to a manufacturing labor force of 136,000, and a young and growing population with a median age of 29 years.
In addition, McAllen has a thriving aerospace industry that employs over 3,000 people. The region is home to General Electric Aviation which refurbishes jet engine component parts and SpaceX which is designing the Mars Space Shuttle.
Good road connectivity is essential for the city of McAllen, Texas. The city is served by multiple major highways that help with transportation and mobility. One of the key highways is U.S. Route 83 (US 83), which runs through the heart of the city. Additionally, the other significant highway, U.S. Route 281 (US 281), runs through the city from the Red River border of Oklahoma and Texas in the north to the Rio Grande border in the south, passing through Wichita Falls, San Antonio, and McAllen.
Additionally, McAllen city is actively working on initiatives to improve road connectivity in the area. One such project is the Hidalgo County Loop, a toll road project led by the Hidalgo County Regional Mobility Authority, expected to span over a 25-year period. The primary objective of this project is to facilitate the movement of goods throughout the region and enhance the overall transportation network.
Cross-border trade between Texas and Mexico is a crucial factor in the state's economy. Numerous industries depend on intermediate goods, which are essential components of final products, and their supply chains heavily rely on this trade. The Hidalgo County border crossings, including McAllen, are among the 12 trade bridges located on the Texas-Tamaulipas Mexico border.
The border crossings that connect McAllen, Texas, and Tamaulipas, Mexico are of great importance to the local and state economies. These 19 international border crossings play a vital role in the economies of both Texas and Mexico and have been instrumental in establishing Mexico as Texas' primary trading partner.
The McAllen/Hidalgo International Bridge is the only International Port of Entry in the area that has a pedestrian crossing. This bridge has nine southbound lanes, with one lane conveniently dedicated as an EZ Cross Lane and another lane dedicated to pedestrians.
1 Anzalduas International Bridge
3 Pharr - Reynosa International Bridge
Air connectivity is crucial to McAllen's economy and development due to its strategic location providing easy access to national and international destinations.
Aeromar, the airline company, has recently launched new routes that aim to enhance the national and international connectivity of San Luis Potosí. These routes include direct flights and stopover services connecting the city to McAllen, Monterrey, and Puerto Vallarta. This move is expected to bring a huge opportunity for the recovery of tourism in the region and contribute significantly to its reactivation.
In addition, air transportation facilitates global trade by increasing access to international markets and aiding the globalization of production and supply chains.
McAllen, Texas doesn't have direct access to the sea, which means that marine connectivity isn't a significant factor in its economy or infrastructure. However, the state of Texas has a vast coastline along the Gulf of Mexico, and cities like Brownsville, Corpus Christi, and Houston have major seaports that handle a considerable amount of maritime cargo.
McAllen is not directly connected to any ports, but it benefits from Texas's marine connectivity through a network of roads and railways. These transportation channels allow for efficient transportation of goods from the ports to McAllen.
The Port of Brownsville is the only deep-water seaport situated on the U.S.-Mexico Border. It serves a large consumption area comprising over 10 million people within a three-hour drive on both sides of the border. The port is a strategic logistics hub for numerous multinational manufacturing centers across North America.
Railway connectivity in McAllen, Texas, plays a crucial role in the efficient transportation of goods. Railways are the most efficient mode of transport for moving goods on the surface of the earth. They are of particular importance for the movement of goods that are heavy and move in large quantities over long distances, where the expense of transportation represents a large part of the total delivered cost.
The Rio Valley Switching Company (RVSC) is the “Valley Railroad” that interchanges with the Union Pacific Railroad (UPRR) in Harlingen and extends west 55 miles / 88 km to Mission, Edinburg, and up to the McAllen Foreign Trade Zone. RVSC also extends northwest 11 / 18 km miles to Santa Rosa.
Therefore, railway connectivity in McAllen is of utmost importance for its growth and economic development.