Twenty-five years after ECN examined tradeshow transportation, freight providers point to rising costs, improved visibility, and planning mistakes that still disrupt shipments.
Twenty-five years ago, Exhibit City News (ECN) asked transportation professionals what exhibitors needed to understand about moving freight to and from tradeshows.
The tools have changed. Tracking is faster. Status updates are easier to access. Transportation teams can use automation to identify problems earlier.
The fundamentals, however, remain familiar.
In responses to ECN’s 2026 transportation survey, two freight providers pointed to early planning, realistic budgets, accurate information, and clear communication as the foundation of a successful move.
Costs That Refuse to Sit Still
Freight pricing has become harder to predict as fuel costs, carrier capacity, labor availability, and space restrictions change.
Mark Lopata, president of ML International Expo Logistics, identified costs and pricing pressure as the most significant change in tradeshow transportation during the past 25 years. He says fuel prices and available space can shift from month to month, whether freight moves across the country by truck or travels by air to an international show.
Matthew Meskin, marketing and admin manager at Diversified Transportation Services, pointed to labor, driver, and capacity challenges. Those pressures can reduce options when exhibitors wait until shortly before move-in to arrange transportation.
“Exhibitors who used to budget freight as an afterthought are now treating it as a real line item,” Meskin says.
The latest Cass Transportation Index showed freight expenditures rising 11.2 percent from June 2025 to June 2026, even as shipment volume fell 4.1 percent. The Cass Truckload Linehaul Index, which excludes fuel and accessorial charges, increased 5.5 percent during the same period. Cass attributed the higher expenditures primarily to rising rates as freight volume declined.
The June Logistics Managers’ Index offered a similar picture. Its Transportation Prices Index registered 92.4, indicating rapid price growth, while Transportation Capacity fell to 30.8, indicating continued contraction. The index is based
on a monthly survey of logistics professionals.
Meskin says exhibitors who plan earlier are better positioned to secure capacity and avoid last-minute pricing.
“The ones who plan freight 60 to 90 days out are in a much stronger position,” he says.
Lopata recommends obtaining quotes from at least two carriers when building a freight budget. Meskin also advises exhibitors to include a contingency for variables that can affect the final cost.
The Same Mistakes Keep Returning
Both respondents identified waiting too long to plan and selecting transportation based only on price as recurring problems.
Lopata also cited poor packaging, inadequate crates, missed deadlines, missed target dates, and inaccurate freight budgets. Meskin pointed to incomplete paperwork, poor communication with the carrier or show team, and a lack of understanding about material handling and drayage.
Transportation and material handling are connected, but they are not the same service. A carrier moves freight to and from a destination. Material handling generally covers the movement of freight after it reaches an advance warehouse or show site. Exhibitors who do not understand the distinction may overlook costs or responsibilities when preparing schedules and budgets.
Both respondents said planning habits vary widely. Some exhibitors provide detailed information early. Others address freight only after other show expenses have been settled, leaving fewer choices when timing matters most.
Better Tracking, Earlier Warnings
The most visible difference between transportation in 2001 and 2026 may be the amount of shipment information available during transit.
“The biggest practical change right now is visibility,” Meskin says.
Real-time status updates allow exhibitors and transportation providers to follow freight without relying entirely on phone calls. That visibility can reduce uncertainty during move-in and provide an earlier warning when a delay or scheduling problem threatens a show deadline.
Diversified Transportation Services also uses automation to reduce manual tracking work. Meskin says this gives employees more time to address problems instead of gathering updates.
“The technology is not replacing the relationships,” he says.
Customer service remains part of that equation.
“We continue to see a need for a high level of customer service,” Meskin says.
When Information Stops at the Show Site
Some of the most difficult freight problems develop during move-out, when carriers, general service contractors, exhibitors, and transportation providers must work within fixed schedules.
Meskin identified forced freight as a continuing issue at large venues. It can occur when an exhibitor’s carrier does not arrive to collect a shipment within the required window and the general service contractor arranges transportation to remove it from the facility.
“Forced freight continues to be a major issue at large venues,” Meskin says.
He believes better access to carrier information could reduce some of that risk. General service contractors, he says, could publish which less-than-truckload carriers are servicing a show, along with key contacts and critical cutoff windows.
Without that information, transportation providers may have to contact carriers individually to confirm whether they are serving the event and who is managing show-site pickups.
“That is not a technology problem. It is an information sharing problem,” Meskin says.
Meskin acknowledges that general service contractors face their own pressures during move-out, coordinating labor, dock schedules, and hundreds of outbound shipments against fixed deadlines. Better carrier information, he says, could reduce forced-freight disputes for everyone involved, including the contractors managing the floor.
“Nobody at show site wants freight sitting on the dock with no carrier assigned,” Meskin says. “Less forced freight means the show ends the way it was planned, and that is really the whole point.”
Preparation Still Matters Most
For exhibitors, the practical lesson is not simply to book a truck earlier. Effective planning begins with complete information.
Meskin recommends knowing booth dimensions, crate weights, target delivery windows, and return plans before contacting a transportation provider. Exhibitors participating in several events can also create a master freight profile for their exhibit properties instead of rebuilding the same information for every show.
Twenty-five years of new tools have made freight easier to see. They have not made tradeshow deadlines more flexible or replaced the need for planning, communication, and service.
Treat freight as part of your show strategy, not a last step in your logistics checklist,” Meskin says.
Founded in 2005, ML International Expo Logistics provides domestic and international freight forwarding for tradeshows, special events, fine art, and cultural exhibits. Its services include air and ocean freight, customs brokerage, ATA carnets, and import and export documentation. For more info, visit www.mlintl.net.
Founded in 1990, Diversified Transportation Services arranges freight transportation for tradeshows, exhibits, and events, including inbound and outbound show freight, exhibitor shipping coordination, and move-out and return freight management. The company also arranges less-than-truckload, full truckload, and expedited freight services. For more info, visit www.dtsone.com.
This story originally appeared in the Q4 2025 issue of Exhibit City News, p. #88. For original layout, see Print Version
