III.

Economic Activities

Tennessee was predominantly agricultural as late as 1940. During the second half of the 20th century the growth of manufacturing has been rapid, encouraged by low-cost power provided by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), improved transportation facilities, and nearby markets. In 1996 manufacturing was the leading contributor to the state gross product, followed by services and trade.

Tennessee had a work force of 2,990,000 in 2006. The largest share of those employed, 33 percent, worked in service industries such as those catering to tourists. Another 19 percent were employed in wholesale or retail trade; 17 percent in manufacturing; 15 percent in federal, state, or local government, including those serving in the military; 28 percent in finance, insurance, or real estate; 5 percent in construction; 7 percent in transportation or public utilities; 3 percent in farming (including agricultural services) or forestry; and a fraction of 1 percent in mining. In 2005, 5 percent of Tennessee’s workers were unionized.

A.

Agriculture

A.1.

Patterns of Farming

The state’s largest farms are in western Tennessee, where cotton has historically been the leading crop. Cotton is supplemented, or in some sections supplanted, by corn, soybeans, vegetables, strawberries, and tobacco. Eastward in the Nashville Basin, livestock predominate. Cattle, hogs, sheep, horses, and poultry are raised there. On some farms, dairying is the chief source of income. Corn, hay, and other crops are grown mainly to feed the livestock, not for cash. However, in the Nashville Basin and on the Highland Rim, tobacco is an important crop.

Farm yields are generally lower in the Cumberland Plateau, where poor eroded soils, steep slopes, and lack of machinery and transportation have hampered agricultural development. Livestock raising (including dairying), and the cultivation of fruit, vegetables, and tobacco are carried on. Conditions improve in the Ridge and Valley province to the east, where farmers engage in tobacco cultivation and livestock raising.

There were 84,000 farms in Tennessee in 2005. Of those, only 26 percent had annual sales of more than $10,000. Many of the remainder were part-time operations whose farmers held other jobs. Farmland covered 4.7 million hectares (11.6 million acres), or 46 percent of the state’s land surface. At 56 hectares (138 acres), the average farm was relatively small.

Crops occupy 59 percent of the farmland, and they account for 49 percent of the income generated on farms. The sales of livestock and animal products generate the remainder of farm income.

A.2.

Crops

Tennessee had a well-diversified crop base in the late 1990s, with income coming from cotton (including cotton lint and seed), soybeans, tobacco, corn, and nursery items. The state usually ranks among the leading states in tobacco production. In addition, wheat, greenhouse products, and vegetables such as tomatoes and snap beans are raised.

A.3.

Livestock

The sale of cattle and calves was the leading source of farm income in 1997, generating one-fifth of all sales. Other major sources of income include broilers (young chickens), eggs, dairy products, and hogs. Horses are also raised. The central part of the Nashville Basin is noted for its horse farms, where the famous Tennessee Walking Horse, which has a distinctively smooth gait, is raised.

B.

Mining

The principal nonfuel minerals produced in Tennessee are crushed stone, zinc, cement, sand and gravel, and clay. Bituminous coalfields underlie 13,000 sq km (5,000 sq mi) of the state in the Cumberland Plateau, and Tennessee derives a significant portion of its total mining income from this fuel. Stone, primarily limestone, marble, and sandstone, is produced in numerous counties in central and eastern Tennessee. Tennessee ranks among the leading states in the quarrying of marble. The state leads the country in the production of natural gemstones and ball clay (a clay with a high content of organic material). It is second in zinc production, behind only Alaska. Zinc is mined chiefly in eastern Tennessee, but in 1969 a major zinc deposit was discovered in the central part of the state. Other minerals produced in the state in the late 1990s include petroleum, barite, lead, and lime.

C.

Manufacturing

The production of motor vehicles and parts constitutes Tennessee’s largest industry in terms of contribution to the overall state economy. Transportation goods manufactured in the state also include aircraft parts and boats. Other leading industries include those producing chemical products such as organic and inorganic compounds used in industry, synthetic fibers, pharmaceuticals, and explosives; food products, particularly milled grains, baked goods, confections, and beverages; machinery such as refrigeration and heating equipment, metalworking machines, and construction equipment; rubber and synthetic compounds, especially tires and miscellaneous plastics; and fabricated metal products such as structural metal pieces, steel pipe, and aluminum sheets. Other important industries are printing and publishing, electronics, lumber and paper mills, apparel manufactures, and firms engaged in producing surgical appliances and supplies.

Manufacturing of durable goods such as automobiles and metal products has been growing quickly in Tennessee. Many industries have been attracted to the state by the relatively low cost of labor, power, and raw materials, by the number of waterfront sites on navigable rivers and lakes, and by Tennessee’s central location in relation to markets. The eastern part of the state is the most highly industrialized area as a whole, although Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Knoxville, are the state’s main industrial centers.

D.

Electricity

Most of Tennessee is served by the TVA power system, which sends electricity either directly to industries or through municipalities or cooperatives. Some 10 percent of the state’s electricity is generated at hydroelectric power plants, while 62 percent of it is produced at huge thermal plants fueled by coal. The TVA constructed the first commercial nuclear power plant in Tennessee at Chickamauga Lake. The state now has 3 such plants, generating 29 percent of the state’s electricity.

E.

Transportation

Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga are the focal points of transportation routes in Tennessee.

E.1.

Waterways

The Tennessee River is a much-used waterway navigable by barges and other shallow-draft vessels. The Tennessee section of the Cumberland River is also navigable. These two rivers are joined by a canal. In 1985 construction was completed on a project that joined the Tennessee and Tombigbee rivers with a canal in northeastern Mississippi and provided a shorter water route from Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexico. The western part of Tennessee is served by the Mississippi River. The state’s principal port is Memphis, on the east bank of the Mississippi.

E.2.

Railroads

Railroad mileage in the state totaled 4,199 km (2,609 mi) in 2004. As one of the few major bridging points across the lower Mississippi, Memphis is an important railroad junction. Goods originating in Tennessee and shipped by rail include chemicals (13 percent of total freight), food products (12 percent), glass and stone (14 percent) and coal (11 percent).

E.3.

Highways

Tennessee is served by 143,212 km (88,988 mi) of highway, including 1,778 km (1,105 mi) of the interstate highway system. The main east-west route is Interstate 40, which links Tennessee’s principal cities. Freeways oriented north-south include interstates 24 and 65, which cross in Nashville, and Interstate 75, which passes through Knoxville in the east.

E.4.

Airports

Tennessee had 8 airfields in 2007, most of which were private. Leading airports were in Nashville, the nation’s 37th busiest, Memphis, the 41st busiest, and Knoxville, 92nd busiest. Memphis is also an important hub for air-cargo transportation.

F.

Trade

Memphis is a large cotton and hardwood lumber market for the United States. Regionally it is a major market for livestock and farm produce. Nashville, Knoxville, and Chattanooga are also trade centers.