Memphis TN..America's First Aerotropolis

For many years, Memphis has been known as "America's Distribution Center". Actual manufacturing jobs have all but gone from our area, while distribution centers for many national and international companies have sprung up. The reason is our central location in the U.S. and Federal Express's main hub located here. Although FedX accounts for many jobs here as one of if not the largest employer, the Memphis International Airport accounts for one in three jobs in the metro area.
The local airport authority in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce are working tirelessly to create the world's first "aerotropolis". While this term has been tossed around for several years now, public and private officials now have a plan to make this a reality.
A local study conducted by the University of Memphis shows that business owners rated passenger and cargo services highly and also reported a strong correlation between business success and airport services.
The impact on our local economy by the substantial growth of both air cargo and passenger services at the Memphis International airport is phenomenal. Airport authority president and CEO Larry Cox is scheduled to report on this study regarding our airport at an Airport Cities World Conference in Athens Greece. Memphis will host this conference in 2011.