UPS begins construction on $70m Memphis hub expansion
UPS has started work on expanding its package hub in Memphis, Tennessee, by as much as a third. The company said construction began recently on the $70m project, which will add 140,000 square feet of space at the site on Swinnea Road.
UPS said the facility will improve processing rates through the use of next generation automated sorting technology when it is completed in early 2016.
Expectations are that around 350 new jobs will be created over three years to meet the volume growth from the double-digit growth in e-commerce within the mid-South region of the United States.
Memphis might be better known as the home of rivals FedEx, but UPS said its hub there is a centerpiece for handling packages from Alabama, Arkansa, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee itself. The facility processes items going through the UPS air gateway and ground hub as well as coordinating local pickup and delivery operations in the area.
Around 1,300 employees are currently based at the 83-acre site next to Memphis International Airport.
The expansion project sees UPS leasing a further 27 acres of land from the Airport Authority.
Some of the upgrades will be completed by this November so that UPS can increase its capacity for the festive season — a year after the company was widely criticised for its pre-Christmas performance.
Ken Harms, UPS president of the Mid-South District, said: “Facility upgrades will help give us the latest technology and additional capacity to process both ground and air express volume growing from e-commerce business shippers located here, and consumer demand that is driving online retail sales.”
