Economy of Memphis, Tennessee

Located on the Mississippi River, the metropolitan area of Memphis is one of the largest in the Southeastern United States, ranking 42nd in the United States according to the 2010 census.[1] The city has historically been one of the largest shipping hubs in the Mid-South, dating back to the Civil War, when the port was one of the largest on the Mississippi River and served as a shipping hub for the Confederacy.[2]

As transportation methods developed, Memphis has continued to hold significance as a transportation hub. Now the city is home to the second largest cargo airport in the world, Memphis International Airport,[3] and the world’s busiest domestic airport with 3.9 million metric tonnes. Memphis International Airport and Memphis has had huge significance in the railroad industry. The city has the 3rd largest rail center in the U.S. behind Chicago and St. Louis.[4] It is also one of only four U.S. cities with five Class 1 railroads.

Because Memphis has been such an important city for transportation and shipping, it is attractive to businesses, especially those producing goods shipped nationwide. Three Fortune 500 companies, FedEx, AutoZone and International Paper Co. call Memphis home. These significant businesses have brought a large manufacturing industry. Of the 607,900 jobs in Memphis in July 2014, 209,900 are in the Manufacturing and Transportation industries, around 34.5 percent.[5]

Over the years, the city has become less dependent on its manufacturing and transportation. Since the 1950s, the manufacturing industry has declined as businesses have moved off-shore for cheaper labor and the economy has since diversified and become more reliant on services. The Gross Domestic Product of the private sector good-producing industries have grown from $8,309 million to $11,459 million from 2003 to 2013.[6] Over that same time period, the private sector service industries grew from $39,354 million to $48,641 million.[6]

Model for economic development and forecast

Memphis has been one of the slowest cities to recover from the Great Recession that lasted from December 2007 to June 2009[7][8] according to Brookings Metro Monitor, and as a result, the city is currently recovering from it slowly and surely. A high unemployment rate just under 9 percent ranking 339 out of 372,[9] in the city.

At the Memphis City Council meeting in June,[10] Mayor A.C. Wharton outlined a budget[11] for the upcoming 2014-2015 fiscal year that was aimed at reducing the cities’ huge pension deficit without raising taxes. The budget predicted several economic trends, including: little growth in population and jobs, the outward migration of people and jobs, low cost of living and housing, and low taxes and no earned income tax.

The city ranks fourth[12] in the country in unfunded Actuarial Accrued Liability. This means the city had the fourth highest amount of future retiree benefits that the municipality is unable to pay. The city cannot pay the insurance premiums because there are so many retiring and not enough taxes to cover those benefits. Essentially, the city is paying off the Other Post Employment Benefits with money it does not have and has not raised through taxes. Because this plan significantly impacted the city workers’ insurance plans, it was received with criticism in the council meetings. The council has assured constituents that they will search to find the money to keep the former insurance plan in place.

Companies

Publicly traded firms headquartered in Memphis

Private firms headquartered in Memphis

Major divisions or operations
  • Allenburg Cotton, part of Louis Dreyfus, trades and brokers cotton, along with shipping, ginning, and warehousing.
  • Cargill Cotton, part of Cargill Incorporated, trades and brokers cotton, along with shipping, ginning, and warehousing.
  • Carrier plant for central air conditioning, located in Collierville. Carrier is part of United Technologies.[21]
  • Evergreen Packaging, packaging company owned by Reynolds Group Holdings
  • Information Technology world headquarters and data center for Hilton Hotels is located on Crossover Lane.[22]
  • Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. investment banking firm, subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, Inc., Headquartered in the eponymous tower at Jefferson and Front streets in downtown Memphis.
  • Nike, 1,000,000-square-foot (93,000 m2) footwear distribution center and other distribution facilities.[23]
  • Nucor Steel Memphis Inc. manufactures special bar quality carbon steel in a plant on Paul R. Lowry Road.[24]
  • Orthopaedic Reconstruction and Trauma division world headquarters of Smith & Nephew is located on Brooks Road.[25]
  • Spinal and Biologics division headquarters of Medtronic is located in Memphis.[26]
  • Wonder Bread plant is located on Monroe Avenue. Wonder is part of Hostess Brands.[27]
  • Williams-Sonoma, Inc., primary global distribution facilities.
  • Y&S Candies plant, which makes Twizzlers and Bubble Yum chewing gum, is located on Kansas Street.[28] Y&S is part of The Hershey Company.

Nonprofits

Government entities

Entertainment industry

The entertainment and film industry has also developed in recent years in the city. Major motion pictures filmed in Memphis include Making the Grade (1984), U2: Rattle & Hum, (1988) Mystery Train (1989), Great Balls of Fire! (1989), Trespass (1991), The Firm (1993), A Family Thing (1996), The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996), The Rainmaker (1997), Cast Away (2000), The Queens of Comedy (2001), 21 Grams (2003), Hustle & Flow (2005), Walk the Line (2005), Forty Shades of Blue (2005), Black Snake Moan (2007), Nothing But the Truth (2008), and The Blind Side (2009).

Further reading
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References
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  2. "Museum of the City". Museum of the City. Archived from the original on 2014-10-07. Retrieved 2014-09-27.
  3. Ohayon and White, Martine and Ryan. "ACI releases World Airport Traffic Report" (9/17/2014). Retrieved 2014-09-30.
  4. "Memphis Bragging Rights". Greater Memphis Chamber. Archived from the original on 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2014-09-28.
  5. "Memphis, TN-MS-AR Economy at a Glance". Bls.gov. 2017-06-20. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  6. "Regional Data GDP & Personal Income". bea.gov. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
  7. "The Great Recession". State of Working America. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  8. Archived 2012-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  9. "Unemployment Rates for Metropolitan Areas". Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2014-09-29.
  10. http://memphis.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=6&clip_id=4424&meta_id=243364
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  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2006-03-17. Retrieved 2009-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. Einat Paz-Frankel Hilton investing $14 million in Web Memphis Business Journal, November 23, 2007(Accessed November 6, 2009)
  23. "Nike News - The official news website for NIKE, Inc". Nikebiz.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  24. "★ Nucor Corporation - Locations - Nucor Divisions - U.S. ★". Nucor.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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  26. Medtronic. "Physician and Healthcare Payer Information - Medtronic". wwwp.medtronic.com. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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  29. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-11-07.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  30. "About Us - St. Jude Children's Research Hospital". Stjude.org. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
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  32. Pike, John. "Naval Support Activity (NAVSUPPACT) Mid-South". Globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
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