Kingsport population growth and economy (Johnson City: relocation, jobs, health care)

[califantastic]

I have a question or two about Kingsport and would appreciate any input you may have.

I had the impression that the entire Tri Cities area had strong population, job, and economy growth.

However if you look at City-Data.com Kingsport had a population decline of 1.6% between 2000 and 2006.

And if you look at Money Magazine's site it says there was a jobs decline in Kingsport of 1.3% between 2000 and 2006.

Could someone please explain to me what is really going on? Does Kingsport really have a strong growing population and economy as I had been led to believe, or are these negative statistics above more indicative of what is going on in Kingsport?

Also how dependent is the Kingsport economy on manufacturing and how likely are the manufacturing jobs in Kingsport to be offshored to other countries?

Thank you for your response.

[mbmouse]

Hello,
ETSU does extensive reports every quarter on just this very subject. Here is what they say about the Tri-Cities 3rd quarter of 07' job markets.

East Tennessee State University + Third Quarter 2007 + College of Business and Technology
THE METROPOLITAN AREA (CSA)

During the summer months, the regional labor market continued to set new records and become much tighter as a result. In the third quarter, the metropolitan area employment rose by 2.5% to 236,710, a gain of over 5,700 jobs compared to the same period in 2006. This marks the tenth quarter in a row of employment growth, and the seventh quarter where the increase has topped two percent. With the continued expansion in jobs, the number of unemployed workers saw another double-digit drop, falling 14.5% to 9,687. The jobless rate for the Tri-Cities metro area during the July to September period was 3.9%, compared to 4.7% a year ago.

You can read the rest of the report which has a break down by city here:
Tri-Cities Labor Market Report for Third Quarter 2007

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by califantastic

I had the impression that the entire Tri Cities area had strong population, job, and economy growth.

However if you look at City-Data.com Kingsport had a population decline of 1.6% between 2000 and 2006.

And if you look at Money Magazine's site it says there was a jobs decline in Kingsport of 1.3% between 2000 and 2006.

Could someone please explain to me what is really going on? Does Kingsport really have a strong growing population and economy as I had been led to believe, or are these negative statistics above more indicative of what is going on in Kingsport?

Also how dependent is the Kingsport economy on manufacturing and how likely are the manufacturing jobs in Kingsport to be offshored to other countries?

Johnson City's population grew by about 4,400 between 2000-2006, while Kingsport's declined by about 700. Some of Kingsport's shift is attributable to folks moving to nearby "bedroom communities" and unincorporated suburbs. From what I've seen, a lot more homes in the $300K and up range are being built outside the city limits than inside.

In addition, between 2003-2006, Kingsport experienced several major plant closings (e.g., Chiquola, Quebecor, Kingsport Foundry) and Eastman Chemical laid off several hundred people in '03. The economy is still anchored by Eastman Chemical (7,500 employees in Kingsport) and strongly supported by AGC Flat Glass (formerly AFG) and Wellmont Health System, which employs over 4,500 across the region.

Eastman is doing well these days and recently announced a $1.3 billion reinvestment plan over the next five years, including $200 million to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 60%. They intend to hire 2,000 people during that time, primarily to replace retiring workers.

Many other good things are happening in Kingsport including RCAT's success, the academic village about to be built downtown, the Kings' Port on the Holston revitalization project, a huge surge in retail development & construction, a spruced-up downtown, and a progressive-minded city manager in John Campbell who's spearheading Kingsport's emergence from the rut it was in for too long.

Earlier this year, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to fund the construction of a $12 million, 50,000-square-foot higher education center. The idea of an academic village evolved from this plan once Northeast State Technical Community College offered to bring its medical courses to downtown as well.

In response, the BMA voted to fund a $4.8 million, 42,000-square-foot allied health building, the groundbreaking of which was held last month.

The allied health building is slated to be open in the fall of 2008; the higher education center is slated to open by the fall of 2009.
Tri-Cities, Tennessee Personal News and Media Center

The Tortoise Wins the Race
Higher Callings
Discover Kingsport Tennessee :: King's Port On The Holston

[califantastic]

Thank you mbmouse for the link to the job data. Looks like Kingsport has recovered from the decline in jobs and is moving upward and onward.

Thank you kamoshika for your explanation of the population decline. Sounds like the population in the Kingsport area is not really declining, but more people are choosing to live out in the county rather than the city.

What about the age of Kingsport's population? The population seems very old based on demographic statistics. Do you think that more younger people will move into the area allowing Kingsport's population to continue to grow as these older people pass on or is Kingsport's population likely to decline in the coming years as the older population passes on?

Also any thoughts on the likelihood of further job cuts or relocations out of Kingsport for major employers / plants?

Also are there any major non-manufacturing employers in Kingsport besides health care and schools?

Thank you very much for your input.

[MarandaStephenson]

Since you are on the topic of Kingsport, my husband heard from one of his construction professors at ETSU, that Eastman has been bought out and that they are relocating over seas? Has anyone else heard of this? He said that a new company is suppose to be moving in? Also, I heard on the radio that Toyato is opening up a factory here? Has anyone heard any news of this or where it is going to be located?

[mbmouse]

Originally Posted by MarandaStephenson

Since you are on the topic of Kingsport, my husband heard from one of his construction professors at ETSU, that Eastman has been bought out and that they are relocating over seas? Has anyone else heard of this? He said that a new company is suppose to be moving in? Also, I heard on the radio that Toyato is opening up a factory here? Has anyone heard any news of this or where it is going to be located?

I think the Toyota situation I believe you are referring to is actually the Honda Areo deal that was in the works in Sullivan County. They were looking at the Tri-Cities airport area to build a new facility but they decided to build
in NC instead. You can read the letter from the CEO of Honda here: NETWORKS - Sullivan County Partnership
As for Eastman........news to me and seems odd that they are putting all the money into educating and hiring new employees if they are being bought out and I can't image who would buy them out as they are one of the largest plastic manufactures in the country and abroad. I just can't see it. I have a meeting on the 29th with some folks from the city and I will ask them about these rumors and let you know.

[kamoshika]

Originally Posted by MarandaStephenson

...my husband heard from one of his construction professors at ETSU, that Eastman has been bought out and that they are relocating over seas? Has anyone else heard of this? He said that a new company is suppose to be moving in?

Eastman has absolutely, positively not been "bought out."

[MarandaStephenson]

Cool, as I said, just things I heard.

[Joe P]

Originally Posted by kamoshika

Johnson City's population grew by about 4,400 between 2000-2006, while Kingsport's declined by about 700. Some of Kingsport's shift is attributable to folks moving to nearby "bedroom communities" and unincorporated suburbs. From what I've seen, a lot more homes in the $300K and up range are being built outside the city limits than inside.

In addition, between 2003-2006, Kingsport experienced several major plant closings (e.g., Chiquola, Quebecor, Kingsport Foundry) and Eastman Chemical laid off several hundred people in '03. The economy is still anchored by Eastman Chemical (7,500 employees in Kingsport) and strongly supported by AGC Flat Glass (formerly AFG) and Wellmont Health System, which employs over 4,500 across the region.

Eastman is doing well these days and recently announced a $1.3 billion reinvestment plan over the next five years, including $200 million to cut sulfur dioxide emissions by 60%. They intend to hire 2,000 people during that time, primarily to replace retiring workers.

Many other good things are happening in Kingsport including RCAT's success, the academic village about to be built downtown, the Kings' Port on the Holston revitalization project, a huge surge in retail development & construction, a spruced-up downtown, and a progressive-minded city manager in John Campbell who's spearheading Kingsport's emergence from the rut it was in for too long.

Earlier this year, the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted to fund the construction of a $12 million, 50,000-square-foot higher education center. The idea of an academic village evolved from this plan once Northeast State Technical Community College offered to bring its medical courses to downtown as well.

In response, the BMA voted to fund a $4.8 million, 42,000-square-foot allied health building, the groundbreaking of which was held last month.

The allied health building is slated to be open in the fall of 2008; the higher education center is slated to open by the fall of 2009.
Tri-Cities, Tennessee Personal News and Media Center

The Tortoise Wins the Race
Higher Callings
Discover Kingsport Tennessee :: King's Port On The Holston

That was an *excellent* post.