They say a raindrop falling in Lake Itasca will empty into the Gulf of Mexico 90 days later. The timetable is considerably quicker for consumer goods moving along the river, a natural logistics engine.
      The Memphis metro area led the Mississippi River Corridor in new projects in 2004, according to Conway Data's New Plant

Savanna Depot Technologies Corp. is refurbishing 402 igloo-like bunkers at the former military installation near Savanna, Illinois. The company is creating secure space for corporations to store critical data. Bunkers range from 1,100 to 1,500 sq. ft. (102 to 139 sq. m.) and feature two-foot-thick (61 cm.) concrete walls.

Database. In fact, of the 40 projects in 2004 in Tennessee counties abutting the river, 31 of them were in Shelby County. And the county with the next highest project total along the entire river's length was Mississippi's DeSoto County, just across the Tennessee state line.
      The region added to its logistics resume in 2004 with several new projects, including Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.'s (BNSF) expansion of its Memphis intermodal facility and FedEx Ground's new package distribution hub in Olive Branch, Miss.
      BNSF is investing $40 million in its project, which will expand its Tennessee Yard. It's doubling capacity to 400,000 container lifts by 2009 and anticipates creating 150 jobs. The Memphis Industrial Development Board granted tax freezes to BNSF ranging from nine to 13 years depending on the company's operating performance.
      Olive Branch is the construction site for one of FedEx Ground's nine new package distribution hubs. The 330,000-sq.-ft. (30,600 sq.-m.) facility will open in 2006 and will feature the latest automated material handling technology designed to process 22,500 packages per hour with 60 full-time and 325 part-time workers. FedEx Ground plans to open similar hubs in Dallas, Cincinnati and Hagerstown, Md., this year.