Economy of Norfolk, Virginia
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Since
Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
serves as the commercial and cultural center for the geographical region of
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
(and in its political structure of independent cities), it can be difficult to separate the economic characteristics of Norfolk, from that of the region as a whole. The waterways which almost completely surround the Hampton Roads region also play an important part in the local economy. As a strategic location at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, its protected deep water channels serve as major arteries for the import and export of goods from across the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-West, and international destinations, as well as being the location of the world's largest naval base.


Military

Hampton Roads is a major military center, particularly for the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
, and Norfolk serves as the home for the most important of these regional installations,
Naval Station Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hamp ...
. Located on Sewell's Point Peninsula, in the northwest corner of the city, the installation is the current headquarters of the Atlantic Fleet, as well as being home port for the 2nd Fleet, which compromises approximately 62,000 active duty personnel, 75 ships, and 132 aircraft. Norfolk is also home to
Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads (NSA HR) is a United States Navy Echelon 4 regional support commander that is responsible to Navy Region Mid-Atlantic for the operation and maintenance of the installation of the same name that it is headquarte ...
, the headquarters to the
Allied Command Transformation Allied Command Transformation (ACT) ( French: ''Commandement allié Transformation'') is a military command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), formed in 2003 after restructuring. It was intended to lead military transformation of ...
(
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
) and the
United States Joint Forces Command United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) was a Unified Combatant Command of the United States Department of Defense. USJFCOM was a functional command that provided specific services to the military. The last commander was Army Gen. Ray Odi ...
. The region also plays an important role in defense contracting, with particular emphasis in the shipbuilding and ship repair businesses for the city of Norfolk. Major private shipyards located in Norfolk include:
BAE Systems Ship Repair BAE Systems Platforms & Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of BAE Systems Inc. and is a large provider of tracked and wheeled armored combat vehicles, naval guns, naval ship repair and modernization, artillery and missile launching systems, ad ...
, Colonna's Shipyard, and NASSCO. Most contracts fulfilled by these shipyards are issued by the Navy, though some private commercial repair also takes place. When combined with other important regional military installations such as
Naval Air Station Oceana Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...
,
Norfolk Naval Shipyard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...
(in Portsmouth),
Langley Air Force Base Langley Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in Hampton, Virginia, adjacent to Newport News, Virginia, Newport News. It was one of List of airfields of the Training Section of the United States Army Air Service, thirty-two ...
, and
Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It includ ...
, and along with other important defense contractors, the military serves as the region's economic backbone and cultural focal point. It is estimated that over 35% of Gross Regional Product (which includes the entire Norfolk-Newport News-Virginia Beach MSA), is attributable to defense spending, and 75% of all regional growth since 2001 is attributable to increases in defense spending.


Commercial ports

After the military, the 2nd largest and most important industry for Hampton Roads and Norfolk based on economic impact are the region's cargo ports. Headquartered in Norfolk, the
Virginia Port Authority The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is an autonomous government agency, agency (political subdivision) of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns The Port of Virginia, a group of facilities with their activity centered on the harbor of Hampton Roads, ...
(VPA) is a
Commonwealth of Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United Stat ...
owned-entity that, in turn, owns and operates three major port facilities in Hampton Roads for break-bulk and container type cargo. In Norfolk,
Norfolk International Terminals The Virginia Port Authority (VPA) is an autonomous agency ( political subdivision) of the Commonwealth of Virginia that owns The Port of Virginia, a group of facilities with their activity centered on the harbor of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The p ...
(NIT) represents one of those three facilities and is the location of the world's largest and fastest container cranes. Together, the 3 terminals of the VPA handled a total of over 2 million
TEUs The twenty-foot equivalent unit (abbreviated TEU or teu) is an inexact unit of cargo capacity, often used for container ships and container ports.Rowlett, 2004. It is based on the volume of a intermodal container, a standard-sized metal box whic ...
and 475,000 tons of breakbulk cargo in 2006, making it the 2nd* busiest port on the east coast of
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
by total cargo volume after the Port of New York and New Jersey. In addition, just across the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, Maersk is spending $450 million to open the largest container terminal on the East Coast sometime in late 2007. In addition to NIT, Norfolk is home to Lambert's Point Docks, the largest coal trans-shipment point in the Northern Hemisphere, with annual throughput of approximately 48 million tons.
Bituminous coal Bituminous coal, or black coal, is a type of coal containing a tar-like substance called bitumen or asphalt. Its coloration can be black or sometimes dark brown; often there are well-defined bands of bright and dull material within the seams. It ...
is primarily sourced from the Appalachian mountains in western Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The coal is loaded onto trains and sent to the port where it is unloaded onto large breakbulk cargo ships and destined for New England, Europe, and Asia primarily. Most major shipping lines have a permanent presence in the region with some combination of sales, distribution, and/or logistical offices, many of which are located in Norfolk. In addition, many of the largest international shipping companies have chosen Norfolk as their North American headquarters. These companies are either located at the Norfolk World Trade Center building or have constructed buildings in the Lake Wright Executive Center office park. Among them include: * CMA CGM - The
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
firm and world's 3rd largest shipping line has its North American headquarters in Norfolk. * Zim Integrated Shipping Services - An Israeli owned shipping line and the 13th largest in the world, also has its North American headquarters in Norfolk. *Maersk Line Limited - A subsidiary of the world's largest shipping line, A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, specializing in US government shipping contracts.


Tourism

Though Virginia Beach and
Williamsburg Williamsburg may refer to: Places *Colonial Williamsburg, a living-history museum and private foundation in Virginia *Williamsburg, Brooklyn, neighborhood in New York City *Williamsburg, former name of Kernville (former town), California *Williams ...
have traditionally been the centers of tourism for the region, the rebirth of downtown Norfolk and the construction of a cruise ship pier at the foot of
Nauticus Nauticus is a maritime-themed science center and museum located on the downtown waterfront in Norfolk, Virginia, also known as the National Maritime Center. History Nauticus was incorporated under the National Maritime Center Authority in Febr ...
in downtown has driven tourism to become an increasingly important part of the city's economy. The number of cruise ship passengers who visited Norfolk increased from 50,000 in 2003, to 107,000 in 2004 and 2005. Also in April 2007, the city completed construction on a $36 million state-of-the-art cruise ship terminal alongside the pier. Partly due to this construction, passenger counts dropped to 70,000 in 2006, but is expected to rebound to 90,000 in 2007, and higher in later years. Unlike most cruise ship terminals which are located in industrial areas, the downtown location of Norfolk's terminal has received favorable reviews from both tourists and the cruise lines who enjoy its proximity to the city's hotels, restaurants, shopping, and cultural amenities.


Companies headquartered in Norfolk

* BlackHawk Products Group - provides tactical gear such as holsters, body armor, and backpacks to the U.S. Defense Department and law enforcement agencies throughout the world. *FHC Health Systems, one of the top 250 largest private companies in the US, specializing in health care management (
ValueOptions Beacon Health Options, Inc. is a behavioral health company based in Boston, Massachusetts. On Jun. 6, 2019, Anthem, Inc. (now Elevance Health) announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Beacon Health Options. The acquis ...
), health services, and online medical reports. * Landmark Communications, one of the country's largest privately owned media companies with ownership of several daily newspapers, local TV stations, specialty publications, and most famously, The Weather Channel and weather.com. **
Dominion Enterprises Dominion Enterprises is a Norfolk, Virginia-based media and information services company for the automotive, real estate, and travel industries. It has Internet and printed media operations. History Dominion Enterprises was established in Sept ...
, a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications, a print and internet media group that includes numerous specialty publications and online classifieds. The company recently finished construction on a headquarters in downtown. * Lombart Instrument, the largest distributor of ophthalmic instruments based in the United States. * Norfolk Southern Ticker: NS, a
Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States corporations by total revenue for their respective fiscal years. The list includes publicly held companies, along ...
company and one of the country's largest railroad operators, is headquartered in downtown Norfolk. *
Portfolio Recovery Associates PRA Group, Inc. is a publicly traded global debt buyer based in Norfolk, Virginia. PRA Group was listed in the Federal Trade Commission's 2013 Report on the Debt Buying Industry as one of the top five debt buyers in the US. According to SEC filing ...
Ticker: PRAA, primary business is the purchase, collection, and management of defaulted customer receivables. * Sentara Healthcare - a nonprofit healthcare organization that operates ten hospitals ** Optima Health - a health management organization *MDV Nash Finch


References

{{Economy of the United States by jurisdiction