cWe live in a virtual era. Virtual malls, virtual bookstores, virtual cafes, whole companies that are nothing but bits and bytes, business models built on intangible assets and ethereal Web presences.
Welcome to Memphis, Tennessee, capital of the real world.
Memphis is the opposite of virtual. It’s where all the stuff is kept – the Apple PowerBooks, the Nike sneakers, the HP LaserJet toner cartridges, the Mickey Mouse plush toys – before it’s shipped to you. Over the past decade, because of geography and Federal Express, Memphis has become a mecca for people who transport things, a city built on infrastructure and logistics – a city on the move.
At the airport, one of the first signs you see says, “Memphis – America’s Distribution Center.” Unlike most civic boasts, that’s an understatement: Memphis is the distribution center for the entire continent – and sets the standard for the entire world. Memphis International Airport is the world’s busiest cargo airport. For each of the last six years, it handled more cargo than JFK, LAX, Tokyo’s Narita, Amsterdam, or Frankfurt.
