Trade Show Logistics: Shipping, Drayage and Move-In Explained

Trade show logistics covers everything physical between an exhibitor's warehouse and their booth: how freight is shipped, received, moved onto the floor, stored and sent home. It is the part of exhibiting that generates the most surprise invoices, and the part organizers get the most questions about. If you are new to the format, our guide to what a trade show is explains how the contractors and the show floor fit together.

Most shows run on the same cast of parties. Knowing who does what tells exhibitors who to call, and tells organizers what has to be in the exhibitor manual.

• Organizer: sets the move-in and move-out schedule, booth rules and deadlines, and appoints the official contractors
• General service contractor (GSC): runs the advance warehouse and the docks, handles drayage, and sells services such as carpet, furniture and labor
• Venue: sets its own rules on docks, hand-carry, power, rigging and fire safety, which sit on top of the show's rules
• Carriers: the freight companies or couriers exhibitors hire to deliver to the warehouse or show site and collect at move-out
• Exhibitor-appointed contractors: installation crews or exhibit houses some exhibitors bring, usually with paperwork due in advance

Trade show shipping comes down to one early decision: send freight to the advance warehouse before the show, or ship it direct to the show site during move-in. The GSC publishes the addresses, receiving dates and label formats for both in the exhibitor manual.

Freight that arrives at the advance warehouse after its deadline is commonly still accepted but charged at a late rate, or redirected to the show site. Either way, the manual should say so plainly, along with the warehouse's receiving hours and whether it takes small parcels.

Drayage is the fee exhibitors are most likely to misjudge. It is not shipping: it is the material handling service that moves freight from the dock or advance warehouse to the booth, stores empty crates during the show and returns them for move-out. On most show floors, only the official contractor can do it, because of venue rules and labor agreements.

Drayage is charged by weight, typically per hundredweight (100 lb), with a minimum charge per shipment. The rate is set by the show's general service contractor and published in the exhibitor manual, often in several categories: crated or skidded freight, uncrated or loose freight that takes more labor, and special handling for items such as carpet-only shipments or freight that must be stacked or assembled. Overtime surcharges commonly apply to deliveries outside regular hours or off the target schedule.

• Consolidate into fewer, heavier shipments: each one pays at least the minimum
• Crate or skid freight where you can, since loose cartons often fall into a higher category
• Weigh shipments before they leave so the bill of lading is accurate and there are no surprises at the dock
• Ship inside the stated windows to avoid late and overtime surcharges
• Hand-carry small items only if the venue allows it, and check the size and equipment limits first

1. 1

   Label Every Piece

   Use the label format from the exhibitor manual for every piece, with the exhibitor's company name, booth number, show name and the correct warehouse or show site address. Mark each piece 1 of 4, 2 of 4 and so on.

2. 2

   Match the Paperwork

   Send a bill of lading with the piece count, weight and description. Keep a copy, plus the tracking number and the carrier's contact, in the booth kit.

3. 3

   Hit the Targeted Move-In Time

   Many shows assign each booth a targeted move-in window by area or booth number, so docks don't jam. Direct shipments should arrive inside it, and exhibitor crews should plan to be at the booth when freight is delivered.

4. 4

   Brief the Driver

   Trucks often check in at a marshalling yard before being called to the dock. Drivers need the show name, booth number and exhibitor name ready.

5. 5

   Check Delivery at the Booth

   When freight lands in the booth, count pieces against the bill of lading and report damage or shortages to the GSC service desk before signing anything else.

Move-out is where tired teams lose freight. Organizers can prevent most of it by publishing the move-out rules as clearly as the move-in ones, and exhibitors by preparing before the show closes.

• Empty storage: exhibitors put the contractor's empty labels on crates and cartons and request pickup. Empties are stored off the floor during the show and returned after the aisle carpet comes up at move-out
• Keep what you need for the show, such as a small toolkit and spare literature box, in the booth, since stored empties are not usually returned until move-out
• Outbound shipping: complete the outbound material handling form or bill of lading and hand it to the service desk before the deadline, naming the carrier that will collect
• Carrier check-in: the carrier must check in by the deadline in the manual. Freight left after it is commonly re-routed to the contractor's designated carrier at the exhibitor's expense
• Never leave a booth unattended once packing starts, and don't leave freight on the floor without a completed outbound form

Work backward from move-in. Exact dates come from the exhibitor manual; this is the order most exhibitors and organizers work in.

Most logistics problems trace back to information exhibitors never saw. Put every rule in one manual, send it early, and repeat the deadlines in your exhibitor emails. Our exhibitor manual template has a shipping and material handling section you can adapt, and how to plan a trade show covers where logistics sits in the wider timeline.

• Confirm the GSC, venue dock rules and hand-carry policy before you publish the manual
• Publish warehouse and show site addresses, receiving windows and label formats
• Link the material handling rates and explain drayage in plain words, not just a rate table
• Set targeted move-in windows by area and send each exhibitor theirs
• Collect exhibitor-appointed contractor forms and certificates of insurance before move-in
• Give the GSC and dock team the final floor plan with booth numbers
• Publish move-out rules, the outbound form deadline and the carrier check-in deadline
• Track which exhibitors have acknowledged the deadlines and chase the rest

Exhibitors can pair this with our trade show checklist for everything else that has to be ready before the doors open.