Manufacturing - Target Industries - Greater Memphis Chamber

Advanced Manufacturing

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Memphis’s manufacturing base is substantial, spanning a wide variety of products – from non-durable goods such as food and beverage and paper products to more precision based surgical and medical instruments and automotive component manufacturing. With a strong workforce presence found throughout the region, companies with operations in Greater Memphis can connect to the U.S. and the world with exceptional air, road, rail, and port infrastructure.

39,000+

Production Workers

(2019)

2,000+

Graduates Annually

Mfg. Related Programs

75%

United States Population

Within a 2-day Drive

Connected

The Memphis regional market is centrally located in the United States and offers superior operational value and flexibility. With an integrated transportation system of road infrastructure, rail mainlines, river ports, and the 2nd busiest cargo airport in the world, over 27,000 companies have operations in Memphis, including over 400 trucking companies.

With internationally recognized brands leveraging the Memphis value proposition for distribution and logistics functions, the Memphis market serves as America’s Distribution Hub – ensuring reliable and cost-effective solutions to grow bottom line revenues and improve supply chain management systems. Some companies have started to reach overseas for their manufacturing for expenses reasons, and for this require the use of independent 3rd party inspection services in order to assure the quality of product is the same of that they would recieve from Memphis. and while they pay pose competition in the future Menpthis has stayed strong as America’s manufactiing centre.

Industry Presence

In the Greater Memphis metro area, manufacturing industries hold significant regional presence. Shown in the table below, industries with the largest regional presence are highlighted. Measured by industry employment, the top 10 manufacturing industries displayed account for nearly 50% of total manufacturing employment within the region. Pairing the strong critical mass of industry-specific skills with robust historical and projected growth fuel our region’s specialization in the ability to manufacture and take products to market.

Industry Description	2015 Jobs	2019 Jobs	2023 Jobs	Job Growth 2015 to 2019 (%)	Projected Job Growth (%) 2019 to 2023	2019 Location Quotient
Medical Equipment and Supplies	6,448	6,824	7,445	5.84%	9.10%	5.01
Architectural and Structural Metals	2,352	2,917	3,190	24.03%	9.36%	1.75
HVAC and Commercial Refrigeration Equipment	2,058	2,349	2,342	14.14%	-0.31%	4.08
Motor Vehicle Parts	1,043	1,428	1,656	36.84%	15.98%	0.56
Grain and Oilseed Milling	1,490	1,415	1,403	-5.05%	-0.88%	5.47
Other General Purpose Machinery	1,124	1,408	1,536	25.27%	9.11%	1.21
Plastics Product	1,394	1,384	1,328	-0.73%	-4.00%	0.55
Engine, Turbine, and Power Transmission Equipment	1,270	1,294	1,369	1.92%	5.78%	3.08
Basic Chemicals	1,124	1,255	1,259	11.67%	0.35%	1.96
Dairy Products	1,006	1,010	1,030	0.45%	1.96%	1.58
Top 10 Industry Total	19,307	21,283	22,557	10.23%	5.99%
Greater Memphis MSA Total	45,059	43,537	45,818	-1.2%	2.9%

Note: Above industries reflect 4-digit NAICS industries within the Memphis TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Area. Employment estimates derived from Economic Modeling Specialists International, Q2 2020 dataset QCEW Employment.

Location Quotient: Measured against the Nation, location quotients (LQ) are a useful way of quantifying how concentrated a particular industry, cluster, or occupation is in a region as compared to a larger geographic area. An LQ of 1 is equally concentrated within both areas. An LQ of 1.5 indicates that the smaller geographic region is 50% more concentrated regionally, and an LQ of 2 indicates the geographic region is twice as concentrated regionally. An LQ of 0.5 indicates the smaller geographic region is 50% less concentrated against the larger geographic area.

Workforce Presence

As America’s hub for distribution and logistics activity, there exists a strength within the Memphis MSA labor force that is unmatched by its nearest metropolitan peers. This workforce is complemented by the area’s central location and highly developed intermodal infrastructure. Shown in the table below, primary production occupations are displayed. With over 24,000 employed in the top ten, our region’s workforce has the skills, availability, and drive at a competitive cost.

Occupation Description	2019 Jobs	Median Annual Earnings	Avg. Hourly Earnings	2019 Location Quotient
Assemblers and Fabricators, Including Team Assemblers	6,137	$27,477	$14.22	1.08
Helpers–Production Workers	3,340	$23,422	$12.35	2.21
Packaging and Filling Machine Operators and Tenders	2,683	$29,169	$14.93	1.58
Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	2,633	$55,653	$28.78	0.99
Production Workers, All Other	2,369	$24,430	$13.29	2.32
Inspectors, Testers, Sorters, Samplers, and Weighers	2,052	$34,116	$18.19	0.87
Food Batchmakers	1,368	$35,909	$18.03	1.96
Machinists	1,334	$43,503	$21.95	0.81
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	1,331	$42,719	$21.35	0.80
Multiple Machine Tool Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	597	$25,489	$13.07	1.00
Top Manufacturing Occupations Total	24,342
Production Occupations Regional Total	39,400

Note: Above occupations reflect Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC codes) within the Memphis TN-MS-AR Metropolitan Area. Estimates derived from Economic Modeling Specialists International, Q2 2020 dataset QCEW Employment.

Location Quotient: Measured against the Nation, location quotients (LQ) are a useful way of quantifying how concentrated a particular industry, cluster, or occupation is in a region as compared to a larger geographic area. An LQ of 1 is equally concentrated within both areas. An LQ of 1.5 indicates that the smaller geographic region is 50% more concentrated regionally, and an LQ of 2 indicates the geographic region is twice as concentrated regionally. An LQ of 0.5 indicates the smaller geographic region is 50% less concentrated against the larger geographic area.

A large labor pool, competitive costs and easy access to national and international markets makes Greater Memphis the location of choice for manufacturing operations.

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