Tennessee’s economic development highlights in advanced manufacturing, aerospace & defense, automotive, chemicals, energy and transportation.
Advanced Manufacturing
Tennessee believes in the power of manufacturing. Over the last five years, Tennessee ranks in the Top-10 for the largest percentage increase in the United States in manufacturing GDP, which reached $49.1 billion in 2016. That’s 17 percent of the state’s total GDP.
Tennessee exports more than $30 billion in manufactured goods annually. Our largest categories of exported products include transportation equipment, computer and electronic products, chemicals, miscellaneous manufactured commodities, and machinery, except electrical. These five sectors account for 77 percent of the state’s manufacturing exports.
Advanced manufacturing job creation in Tennessee far outpaces national growth, at 26.6% job growth in Tennessee compared to 5.3% nationally from 2011 to 2017.
Aerospace & Defense
Tennessee’s aerospace cluster includes 93 companies, anchored by the world-renowned US Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), the largest flight simulation facility in the world. Tennessee’s crown jewel, the AEDC has tested virtually every Department of Defense high-performance aircraft and missile system.
The AEDC operates 55 aerodynamic and propulsion wind tunnels on its 4,000-acre complex in Tullahoma, as well as highly advanced rocket and turbine engine test cells, space environmental chambers, arc heaters, ballistic ranges, and other specialized units. AEDC operates the most advanced and largest complex of flight simulation test facilities in the world. The complex includes 27 test units with capabilities unavailable anywhere else in the US; 14 of them are unique in the world.
Some of the world’s top aerospace and defense companies operate facilities in Tennessee, including Vought Industries, Beretta USA, Eaton Corporation, Standard Aero Alliance, Honeywell, Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, BAE Systems Ordinance, and Bell Helicopters, with more on the way.
Tennessee exported $68.64 million in defense-related products in 2016, a 34% increase since 2011. Aerospace products and parts exports grew to more than $1.22 billion in 2016.
Automotive
With more than 918 auto suppliers and the lowest tax burden in the nation, Tennessee is the beating heart of the southern automotive corridor.
Tennessee’s automotive manufacturing cluster includes three major assembly plants and automotive operations in 87 of 95 counties. Nissan’s North American headquarters is in Franklin, and its plant in Smyrna is the most productive in North America. With General Motors in Spring Hill and Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee continues to invest in training for the state’s high concentration of automotive employment, a number that’s 3.48 times the national average.
Transportation equipment is Tennessee’s top export – accounting for 23.2% of Tennessee’s total exports. In 2016, 6.7% of all US made cars, light trucks, and SUVs were produced in Tennessee.
Automotive-related manufacturers in Tennessee include Hankook Tire, Bridgestone Americas, Calsonic Kansei, Magneti Marelli, SL Tennessee, Denso Manufacturing, Yorozu Automotive, Alcoa, Dupont, and M-Tek.
Chemicals, Plastics & Rubbers
690+ establishments operate within this industry sector, including Eastman Chemical Company, Kilgore Flares, American Industrial Partners Inc., EI Dupont De Nemours, Chattem, Inc., Nu-Foam Products Inc., Teknor Apex, PMC Biogenix, Precision Molding Services, Jones Plastic & Engineering, Vi-Jon Laboratories, Fujifilm Hunt Chemicals USA and Hamilton Plastics. They employ more than 48,300 Tennesseans. Tennessee ranks twelfth in the nation and second in the Southeast for employment in this cluster.
In 2016, Tennessee’s exports of chemicals totaled over $4.2 billion, and exports of plastics and rubber products totaled over $718 million. Exports of chemicals since 2010 have grown by over $151 million, while exports of plastics and rubber products have increased by 17.13% percent.
Energy Technology
Tennessee is also home to major technology companies, including Alstom Power, Mitsubishi Electric Power Products, SIAG Aerisyn, Teledyne Technologies, and Thomas and Betts Corp.
Currently, almost 22,000 Tennesseans are employed at 340 establishments across the state involved in the energy technology sector. Since 2011, more than 37 projects have been announced in the energy technology sector. These projects have created more than 2,500 new jobs with an investment of $450 million (January 2011–September 2017).
Transportation & Logistics
Tennessee’s high-quality workforce is composed of more than 276,000 Tennesseans employed in the transportation, logistics, and distribution industry at nearly 17,000 establishments. Some of the state’s larger companies in this industry include Amazon, Under Armour, Covenant Transport, Technicolor Home Entertainment Services, Peyton’s, Cummins Inc., Gap Inc., Walmart, FedEx, Averitt Express, US Express, Norfolk Southern, Old Dominion Freight Line, Ozburn Hessey Logistics, Nike, and Macy’s.
The FedEx World Hub in Memphis, which covers 862 acres, is the largest sorting facility in the world, handling between 1.3 million and 1.5 million packages every night over 42 miles of conveyor belts. It’s also the busiest cargo airport in the western hemisphere.
From 2011 through September 2017, $3.5 billion in new capital investment and nearly 26,000 new jobs have located in counties across the state. Among the companies bringing new jobs to the state are Amazon, Academy Sports + Outdoor, Access America Transport, New Breed Logistics, Team 3 Logistics, Saks Inc., PharMEDium Services LLC, and Nike.