LumpList

The lumper service directory

by the makers of LumpLogix

State record

Lumper services in Tennessee

Lumping companies in Tennessee work a FedEx superhub, a Mississippi River port at Memphis, auto plants across Middle Tennessee, and the interstate junctions of the east.

30 lumping companies on the record

Lumping companies serving Tennessee

Agency & coverageService linesEngagementGoogle ratingContact

Dock labor in Tennessee

Agencies on the record
30
Based or dispatching in state
7
Nationwide operators
23

Memphis anchors the state's freight economy: the International Port of Memphis on the Mississippi at Presidents Island, the FedEx Express World Hub at Memphis International Airport, and Class I intermodal service from BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern, whose Rossville Intermodal Facility sits east of the city near the Mississippi line. I-40 runs the length of the state, meeting I-55 at Memphis, I-24 and I-65 at Nashville, and I-75 and I-81 at Knoxville. Chattanooga sits where I-24 joins I-75 toward Atlanta.

Dock labor follows what those corridors carry. Memphis pairs parcel and air freight with medical device and footwear distribution built around the night sort. Nashville's warehouse belt through Lebanon, Mt. Juliet, Murfreesboro and Smyrna serves retail and automotive, with Nissan assembly at Smyrna and General Motors at Spring Hill feeding parts and finished vehicle flow. Chattanooga works Volkswagen's assembly plant at Enterprise South and the distribution parks along I-75. Knoxville handles regional cross-dock volume where three interstates meet.

Tennessee is a right to work state, so freight unloaders are typically non-union crews hired by the trailer or the shift. Demand peaks with holiday retail inbound, summer produce out of East Tennessee, and plant shutdown and restart weeks at the auto sites.

Last reviewed September 2026

Tennessee on the record

  1. The FedEx Express World Hub operates at Memphis International Airport, sorting freight overnight and shaping a night-oriented dock cycle across the Memphis warehouse market.

    Source: FedEx / Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority

  2. The International Port of Memphis is a public inland port on the Mississippi River, with terminals concentrated at Presidents Island.

    Source: International Port of Memphis

  3. Norfolk Southern operates the Rossville Intermodal Facility in Rossville, Tennessee, serving the Memphis market from the east side of the metro.

    Source: Norfolk Southern intermodal terminal list

  4. BNSF operates a Memphis intermodal facility, and Memphis is served by all of BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX and Norfolk Southern.

    Source: BNSF intermodal facilities list

  5. Volkswagen builds vehicles at its Chattanooga assembly plant in the Enterprise South Industrial Park, driving inbound parts and outbound finished goods along I-75.

    Source: Volkswagen Group of America

  6. Nissan assembles vehicles at Smyrna and General Motors at Spring Hill, anchoring the Middle Tennessee supplier and distribution network south of Nashville.

    Source: Nissan North America; General Motors

  7. Knoxville sits at the junction of I-40, I-75 and I-81, one of the busiest truck crossroads in the eastern United States.

    Source: Tennessee Department of Transportation

  8. Tennessee is a right to work state, with the protection written into the state constitution by amendment approved in 2022.

    Source: Tennessee Secretary of State

Inside the Tennessee market

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Reading for Tennessee operators

Questions about dock labor in Tennessee

Are Tennessee dock crews union?

Rarely. Tennessee is a right to work state, and the protection was added to the state constitution by voter-approved amendment in 2022. Third-party unloading in Memphis, Nashville, Chattanooga and Knoxville is almost entirely non-union labor hired by the trailer or the shift, so scheduling is set by the facility rather than by a dock agreement.

Why does Memphis lumper demand run at night?

The FedEx Express World Hub at Memphis International Airport sorts overnight, and the distribution campuses around it, including medical device and footwear operations, build their inbound and outbound windows around that cycle. Crews there are commonly scheduled for late evening and early morning receiving rather than a single daytime shift.

What seasons move Tennessee dock volume?

Holiday retail inbound through the Nashville and Memphis DC clusters is the largest swing. Summer adds East Tennessee produce, including Grainger County tomatoes, and the automotive plants at Smyrna, Spring Hill and Chattanooga create surge weeks around shutdown and restart when parts and finished goods flow changes.