Transportation in the Trade Show World
Depending on the size of exhibit your company uses at your trade shows, trade show transportation freight can be a large portion of each show budget.
Over the last year a larger demand on shippers with a reduced number of trucks due to government mandates and a decreased driver population have set the scene for some significant increases.
In that time frame costs have increased anywhere from 10-30% and with the shortfall of drivers only expected to increase over the coming years exhibitors should review their assets and trade show plans to help manage these costs as much as possible.
Current driver shortages are estimated in the neighborhood of 50,000 and 75,000 with projections reaching 175,000 by 2026.
This shortage results in longer shipment times and an increased cost for each shipment.
Government regulation through the use of electronic logging devices (ELD) has also decreased the amount of time on the road by available drivers.
These devices, while creating safer working conditions for drivers, have also placed a verifiable restriction on the amount of time a driver is behind the wheel.
Specifically for trade shows where wait time is a way of life, those hours waiting to pick up a shipment only reduce the amount of time a driver can be moving the freight to its next location.
Alleviating Trade Show Transportation Costs
So what can you do to help alleviate these increasing costs that impact your show budget?
Simple solutions include using electronic marketing materials instead of box after box of catalogs and brochures and using video content or graphic representation of your product lines instead of shipping more product pieces to each event.
If you are in the market for a new trade show exhibit, it can be designed in a way that reduces the size of the pieces needing to be shipped.
Top trade show exhibit companies should be able to assess your needs and provide you solutions that provide you with maximum exposure while helping keep freight costs and other services manageable, or at the very least, understood up front.
With any assets, the lowest freight costs will be realized when shipped with the proper amount of time and in a way that consolidates all of the shipments as much as possible.
Skyline E3’s operations group strives to coordinate, track and deliver each and every client shipment in the most cost-effective way possible while relieving the risk and stress of that process so our clients can remain focused on the larger goals of their company.