Tennessee Industrial Jobs Declined 13.7% Over Past Two Years

EVANSTON, Ill., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Industrial employment in Tennessee fell 13.7% over the past two years according to the 2011 Tennessee Manufacturers Register®, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Tennessee lost 61,289 manufacturing jobs and 613 manufacturers over the past two years.

Manufacturers' News reports Tennessee is now home to 7,506 manufacturers employing 383,278 workers.

"Decreased demand continues to affect Tennessee manufacturing, particularly the transportation sector and industries related to the housing market," says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "But losses have definitely slowed over the past year."

Bright spots include the opening of several new plants such as the Skykits Corp. airplane manufacturing plant in Paris; a new cellulosic ethanol production facility in Vonore; a Nissan battery plant in Smyrna; an Eastman Chemicals copolyester factory; Will and Baumer's candlemaking factory in Lewisburg; and an Alstom turbine production facility in Chattanooga. Expansions were seen at General Mills' Murfreesboro yogurt plant and at Norcom of Tennessee in Sparta.

Sectors related to the housing industry saw some of the sharpest declines, with furniture/fixtures down 28.3% and lumber/wood down 19.4%, although MNI reports losses in these sectors have diminished over the past twelve months.

According to MNI, fabricated metals manufacturing has overtaken transportation equipment as Tennessee's top industrial sector by employment with 40,377 jobs, down 16% over the past two years. Transportation equipment now ranks third in the state with 39,897 jobs, down 24.6% over the past twenty-four months, due partially to the closures of auto parts manufacturers PBR Knoxville and Robert Bosch LLC, as well as layoffs at GM, Nissan, and Brunswick Corp. Industrial machinery and equipment ranks second for manufacturing employment with 39,950 jobs, down 18.2%.

Most other sectors in Tennessee lost jobs within the past twenty-four months and included textiles/apparel, down 21.5%; rubber/plastics down 20.3%; electronics down 15.6%; stone/clay/glass down 14%; printing/publishing down 8.7%; paper products down 6.4%; primary metals down 5.7% and food products, down the least at 1.5%.

According to the industrial directory, Northeast Tennessee accounts for the largest share of the state's industrial employment with 111,098 manufacturing jobs, down 16% over the past twenty-four months. Southeast Tennessee ranks second at 104,874 manufacturing jobs, down 12.8% over two years. Southwest Tennessee is home to 84,029 industrial jobs, down 12%, while the Northwest is home to 83,277 jobs, down 9.6%.

MNI's city data indicates Memphis is Tennessee's top city for manufacturing employment, with 39,701 jobs, virtually unchanged from two years ago. Nashville ranks second with 29,193 jobs, down 3.3% over two years. Chattanooga is home to 19,804 industrial jobs, down 7.4%, while Knoxville accounts for 15,988 jobs, down 17.2% over the past twenty-four months. Fifth-ranked Kingsport is home to 9,283 industrial workers, with no significant change reported.

Detailed profiles of Tennessee's 7,506 manufacturers and 1,249 industrial distributors can be found in the 2011 Tennessee Manufacturers Register, available in print for $115 and on CD-ROM from $195. Each profile provides up to 30 facts, including vital contact information (phone, web, e-mail), 27,869 executives by name and title, product(s) manufactured, annual sales, number of employees, and more. Visitors to mnileads.com may generate custom profiles of manufacturers using thirteen different criteria, including area or zip code, county, SIC, sales volume, number of employees, and more.

Manufacturers' News, Inc., publisher of manufacturers' directories since 1912, compiles and produces manufacturing guides, statistics and databases for all 50 states. MNI also maintains IndustryNet.com, an industrial search engine designed specifically for locating manufacturers and suppliers nationwide. For more information, contact Manufacturers' News, Inc., 1633 Central St., Evanston, IL, 60201, 847-864-7000, FAX 847-332-1100.  

SOURCE Manufacturers' News, Inc.