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Project(s): View 6 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 5 related plants in PECWeb
Released July 10, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--U.S. cargo ports enable the flow of goods and commodities set for export, as well as distribution across the country. Industrial Info is tracking $4.5 billion worth of projects under construction at U.S. cargo ports, with most of the spend attributed to ports in Texas and two $1 billion-plus projects.
Nine of the 25 projects are at Texas ports, accounting for more than $1 billion in total investment value. Among several projects at Port Houston are two at the Barbours Cut Terminal: a $76.7 million rehabilitation of wharves 4 and 5, which entails reconstructing about 1,333 linear feet of the existing wharves and performing other infrastructure improvements, and a $30 million reconstruction of container yards 6 and 7. With McCarthy Building Companies (Saint Louis, Missouri) providing general contracting services, the projects are expected to wrap up in mid- and late-2026, respectively. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read more information on the wharf rehabilitation and container yard projects.
About an hour by car outside of Houston is Port Freeport's Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project, in which deepening the channel from 46 feet to 56 feet would make Port Freeport the deepest port in Texas. The cost-shared project features a port commitment of $130 million, while the federal investment for construction is expected to total $165 million. Subscribers can click here to read a detailed report for the project, which is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
Another channel improvement project in Texas is at the Port of Brownsville, located at the southernmost tip of Texas, which moves cargo between the U.S. and Mexico. The Brazos Island Harbor ship channel connects the port to the Gulf of Mexico (designated by the Trump administration as the Port of America), and work is underway to increase the channel's depth by dredging it to 52 feet from the current 42 feet. Construction is expected to wrap up around the end of the year. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
The port is a "prominent shipper of steel, refined petroleum products, grain, aggregates, among other products supporting diverse industries located in 12 Mexican states," according to the port website.
NextDecade (Houston, Texas), which is building the under-construction Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the port, provided 100% of the financing for the deepening portion from the western boundary of its lease site along the ship channel to the channel entrance; the Port of Brownsville and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will execute the project from the turning basin area to NextDecade's site.
While Texas leads all states in the total number of U.S. cargo port projects under construction, the two highest-valued projects are located elsewhere.
Site operator U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is performing Phase 3 of a $3.2 billion effort to improve navigation at the Soo Locks shipping channel, located along St. Mary's River in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan, which involves adding a new ship lock. The project is estimated to wrap up in summer 2030. Subscribers can read the related project report.
A ship lock works to raise ships to higher or lower elevations, and this particular system enables ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes by allowing vessels to be raised or lowered 21 feet.
Soo Locks serves as a passageway for more than 80 million tons of commercial commodities per year, according to the USACE.
The highest-valued project is not in any of the Lower 48 states, but Alaska. The North Extension Stabilization Project Phase 2A & 2B at the Port of Alaska is part of a five-phase program aimed at replacing aging docks and related infrastructure. Among the main elements of 2A are stabilizing a section of the port's North Extension--which includes installing a new sheet pile bulkhead--and constructing the new port administration building; 2B includes demolishing the old administration building and replacing two cargo terminals to "support cargo operations, military deployments and cruise ships," according to the port website. Subscribers can click here to read more project information.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Click here for a full list of reports for U.S. cargo port projects that are under construction.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
Nine of the 25 projects are at Texas ports, accounting for more than $1 billion in total investment value. Among several projects at Port Houston are two at the Barbours Cut Terminal: a $76.7 million rehabilitation of wharves 4 and 5, which entails reconstructing about 1,333 linear feet of the existing wharves and performing other infrastructure improvements, and a $30 million reconstruction of container yards 6 and 7. With McCarthy Building Companies (Saint Louis, Missouri) providing general contracting services, the projects are expected to wrap up in mid- and late-2026, respectively. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can read more information on the wharf rehabilitation and container yard projects.
About an hour by car outside of Houston is Port Freeport's Freeport Harbor Channel Improvement Project, in which deepening the channel from 46 feet to 56 feet would make Port Freeport the deepest port in Texas. The cost-shared project features a port commitment of $130 million, while the federal investment for construction is expected to total $165 million. Subscribers can click here to read a detailed report for the project, which is expected to wrap up by the end of the year.
Another channel improvement project in Texas is at the Port of Brownsville, located at the southernmost tip of Texas, which moves cargo between the U.S. and Mexico. The Brazos Island Harbor ship channel connects the port to the Gulf of Mexico (designated by the Trump administration as the Port of America), and work is underway to increase the channel's depth by dredging it to 52 feet from the current 42 feet. Construction is expected to wrap up around the end of the year. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project.
The port is a "prominent shipper of steel, refined petroleum products, grain, aggregates, among other products supporting diverse industries located in 12 Mexican states," according to the port website.
NextDecade (Houston, Texas), which is building the under-construction Rio Grande liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at the port, provided 100% of the financing for the deepening portion from the western boundary of its lease site along the ship channel to the channel entrance; the Port of Brownsville and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will execute the project from the turning basin area to NextDecade's site.
While Texas leads all states in the total number of U.S. cargo port projects under construction, the two highest-valued projects are located elsewhere.
Site operator U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is performing Phase 3 of a $3.2 billion effort to improve navigation at the Soo Locks shipping channel, located along St. Mary's River in Sault Saint Marie, Michigan, which involves adding a new ship lock. The project is estimated to wrap up in summer 2030. Subscribers can read the related project report.
A ship lock works to raise ships to higher or lower elevations, and this particular system enables ships to travel between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes by allowing vessels to be raised or lowered 21 feet.
Soo Locks serves as a passageway for more than 80 million tons of commercial commodities per year, according to the USACE.
The highest-valued project is not in any of the Lower 48 states, but Alaska. The North Extension Stabilization Project Phase 2A & 2B at the Port of Alaska is part of a five-phase program aimed at replacing aging docks and related infrastructure. Among the main elements of 2A are stabilizing a section of the port's North Extension--which includes installing a new sheet pile bulkhead--and constructing the new port administration building; 2B includes demolishing the old administration building and replacing two cargo terminals to "support cargo operations, military deployments and cruise ships," according to the port website. Subscribers can click here to read more project information.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.
Click here for a full list of reports for U.S. cargo port projects that are under construction.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
