The Evolving Material Handling Model at Tradeshows

The material handling, aka “drayage”, model for tradeshows is one of the biggest sore spots with exhibiting in North America. The old joke is; it costs more to move your freight from the dock to your booth than shipping it to the convention center in the first place. It has forced exhibitors, and their exhibit partners, to get creative by designing lighter weight exhibits and to bring less products to showcase in their exhibits. 

One of the main reasons people visit the exhibit floor is to see what’s new and exciting. If companies are not able to bring their latest and greatest, then why visit the show floor at all? If people don’t visit the show floor, why exhibit or invest in sponsorship? I think you see where I’m going with this. It’s a vicious circle.

Material handling costs have increased exponentially over the last 20 years. An exhibitor advocacy group has data to back this up.  Drayage has increased on the low end of 141% and high end of 372% considering all the special handling charges, yet, union wages only increased 80% during the same time frame. (Study 1999-2019, sources: Trade Show week labor survey, direct union wage report, CPI)

Now you may ask what happens beyond North America? I work with global clients and have exhibited in nearly every corner of the world. What I find most fascinating is that many trade shows (or trade fairs depending on where in the world you are located) do not charge any drayage fees at all, and yet still manage to turn a profit. Exhibit designers and producers, like the one I work for, move their own freight from the dock to the booth space in those convention centers. Unfortunately, this model cannot be used in most cities in North America due to union and safety regulations, but it shows there is more than one model that can work.

So, I think you’ll appreciate how excited I was when I heard that the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) was moving to an unlimited material handling fee model for 2019. If you have ever exhibited in a tradeshow, you will know what a positive impact this will have on budgets. It lowered the material handling expense for exhibitors, on average, by 40%. 

The disturbing piece of news I’ve now heard is that some general contractors felt the revamped NAB model was a failure and won’t necessarily become the new standard. Let me assure you, from first-hand experience at NAB, my clients saw a dramatic reduction in material handling costs! And, that’s in comparison to similar shows in Las Vegas with a similar-sized exhibit and without a perceptible change to the move in/out. NAB is continuing with the new model and expanding it to other services. Sounds like they feel it’s working just fine!

This is exactly the reason we formed the Advocacy Committee when I was the Vice President of Marketing and Membership for the Trade Show Exhibitor Association (TSEA). Our goal was to create a forum for exhibitors to speak to each other, learn from one another, and work for the greater good. It was an organization that allowed the exhibitor’s voice to be heard. We encouraged coopetition. One single exhibitor speaking to show management can be viewed as an annoyance and usually will not affect change. When exhibitors cooperate with their competitors and approach show management in a united front, change is possible. 

Many conference organizers let the general contractors make recommendations as to how best move exhibitor freight inside the convention center. You can’t blame them for trusting the “experts” they have brought in to manage the process. This is where enlightenment is the best way to create meaningful change. 

If you are hearing from your show organizers and general contractors that increased material handling fees are just the way it must be, then I ask you not to just shrug your shoulders and resign yourself to it. There is data showing it’s better for both the exhibitor and the show organizers to move to a new model.  I invite you to share this with your fellow exhibitors, your management and with the conference organizers. If you need some help or suggestions of how to do that, please call or email me anytime.  

About the Author: David Brull has 20 years of experience in sales and marketing for brands, associations, and agencies. He is Vice President for kubik, a global leader in the exhibit and event marketing industry. He can be reached at +1 443 716 6836 or [email protected].