Memphis catches ArcBest eye for hub

ArcBest is considering incentives offered by the the Economic Development Growth Engine for Memphis and Shelby County as the company evaluates options on where to place a distribution center for ABF Freight System Inc.

ABF Freight, the trucking subsidiary of Fort Smith’s ArcBest, was approved for a $4 million, 14-year payment by the Memphis economic commission this week. Company spokesman Russ Aikman said the potential move would create 283 full-time jobs, giving the company 372 employees there “at the end of the ramp-up period.”

The company currently operates a distribution center in North Little Rock that would continue to operate in some capacity, Aikman said. The company has been evaluating its freight network and terminal locations since last year. Thirty terminals were closed in late 2013 and early 2014.

“A variety of factors are being considered, with many of them being operations related,” Aikman said. “The greater Memphis area has long been a hub for transportation and shipping companies, including many of our competitors. Ultimately, anytime we evaluate or make changes to our network it is to better and more efficiently serve our customers.”

Aikman declined to give a timetable for when a final decision would be made.

Reid Dulberger, president and chief executive of the Memphis commission and chief economic development officer of Memphis and Shelby County, said that ABF’s move is still just a potential one. Memphis is among the considerations. Mississippi also is being considered by ABF Freight, according to the Memphis Business Journal, the first outlet to report the potential move.

Memphis is attractive to trucking companies because of its location near major interstates and because of its proximity to major railroads and the Mississippi River. ABF, one of 425 trucking companies with operations in or near Memphis, already has a terminal and regional office in Shelby County.

“We are home to all five Class 1 Railroads that support significant local intermodal facilities, one of the busiest cargo airports in the world, the fourth-largest inland port and major highway systems,” Dulberger said.

“The retention and expansion of existing firms, particularly those in a leading sector, is a focal point of our economic development efforts. ABF is an outstanding company with a long and successful history in Memphis and Shelby County,” Dulberger said. “We are pleased they are considering this community for their new investment.”

Arkansas Economic Development Commission spokesman Scott Hardin said the agency was limited in what it could say regarding ABF’s potential for building a distribution center in Memphis.

“We have a policy of not commenting on our projects [until an official announcement is made by the company],” Hardin said. “While we can’t say anything regarding this project, I can tell you we have a division [Existing Business Resource Division] dedicated only to working with Arkansas’ existing businesses to ensure they have the tools needed to stay in-state.”

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