Every night, approximately 150 airplanes arrive at Memphis International Airport and depart before the sun comes up. These jets have no passengers nor seats, only cargo. With all these cargo planes coming through its airport moving 1.5 million packages overnight, Fedex-based Memphis is the world’s second busiest airport in terms of cargo volume. Nearby Louisville also has a similar industry as the airport alone accounts for a whopping 9% of employment in the city. Both Fedex and UPS have picked to locate their headquarters in these cities as a result of its geographic location – they’re central have a plethora of connections including rail lines, river ports, and interstate freeways.
Since a company’s main goal is to maximize profits, an immense number of firms have relocated their head offices to these shipping hubs in order to reduce massive costs. This way, companies will be able to add significantly shorter shipping times to its value proposition. Over 150 businesses, including online retailers, health care firms, and custom clothing companies have relocated to Louisville since 1993. With rapid growth in e-commerce and online shopping over the past few years, these cities will only continue create employment and grow as “aerotropolises”.
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