If you've exhibited at a trade show, you've probably seen a line on your invoice for drayage and wondered why moving your booth a few hundred feet cost more than trucking it across the country.
You're not alone. Exhibitors consistently rank drayage as the most frustrating cost in a show budget. The good news is that most of what drives that bill is decided before your freight ever reaches the dock. This guide breaks down what drayage is, how it's calculated, and the shipping decisions that keep it under control.
What is trade show drayage?
Trade show drayage (also called material handling) is the fee for moving your exhibit freight from the loading dock or advance warehouse to your booth, and back out to your carrier after the show.
It typically covers:
- Unloading your truck at the dock (or receiving at the advance warehouse)
- Delivering your freight to your booth space
- Storing your empty crates and cases during the show
- Returning empties to your booth at close
- Reloading your freight onto your outbound carrier
Drayage is performed by the show's general service contractor (GSC), such as Freeman, GES or Shepard. At most shows the GSC is the exclusive provider, so you can't shop around for it.
Drayage vs. shipping: where each one starts and stops
This is the part most exhibitors miss. Drayage and shipping are two separate services, billed by two separate companies.
| Comparison | Shipping (freight) | Drayage (material handling) |
|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Getting your exhibit from your facility to the show and home again | Moving freight between the dock and your booth |
| Who does it | Your freight carrier or broker (you choose) | The show's GSC (assigned by the show) |
| How it's billed | Per shipment, by miles, weight and equipment | Per 100 lbs (CWT), plus surcharges |
| Can you shop it? | Yes | Usually no |
You can't negotiate the GSC's drayage rate. But how your freight is shipped (when it arrives, how it's packed, how many pieces it's split into, and whether it hits its target window) directly determines how much drayage you pay. That's where a good carrier earns its keep.
How drayage is calculated
Drayage is billed by CWT (hundredweight), per 100 pounds of freight. The basic math:
Weight (rounded up to the next 100 lbs) ÷ 100 × CWT rate = base drayage
A few rules that inflate that number:
- Minimums. Most GSCs charge a minimum per shipment, commonly 200 lbs (2 CWT). A 40 lb box can be billed as 200 lbs.
- Rounding up. 1,110 lbs is billed as 1,200 lbs.
- Rate type. Freight shipped to the advance warehouse, direct to show site, crated, or loose/uncrated each carries a different CWT rate.
- It's round-trip. The rate covers move-in and move-out. You pay it once, but it covers both directions.
Worked example
Illustrative rates only. Always check your show's exhibitor service kit.
A 1,150 lb crated exhibit shipped to the advance warehouse at $96/CWT:
- Billed weight: 1,200 lbs → 12 CWT
- Base drayage: 12 × $96 = $1,152
Same exhibit, but it arrives loose and pad-wrapped, so it's classed as special handling at $120.50/CWT:
- 12 × $120.50 = $1,446
Now add a 30% overtime surcharge because the truck was unloaded after hours:
- $1,446 × 1.30 = $1,880
Same booth, same weight, about $730 more, and none of it had to do with the booth itself. It came from how and when the exhibit was shipped.
The surcharges that blow up your bill
| Surcharge | What triggers it | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Overtime / double time | Freight unloaded or loaded outside straight-time hours, on weekends or on holidays | ~25–50% |
| Special handling | Freight that's loose, side-loaded, stacked, mixed with other freight, or needs extra labor | ~25–35% |
| Late / off-target arrival | Missing the advance warehouse deadline or your show-site target window | ~15–30%, often with a minimum |
| Uncrated | Pad-wrapped or unskidded items | Higher base CWT rate |
| Forced freight | No outbound shipping arranged, so the GSC assigns its own carrier at its rates | Varies, usually expensive |
Ranges drawn from published GSC material handling forms. Your show's kit is the final word.
Advance warehouse vs. direct to show site
Advance warehouse: Freight arrives days or weeks early, and the GSC delivers it to your booth before you arrive. It's the safer option because you know it's there. Rates are usually a bit higher, and arriving outside the warehouse window can add fees.
Direct to show site: Freight goes straight to the venue on a specific target date and time. The CWT rate is often lower, but the window is tight. Miss it and you're looking at off-target surcharges, overtime, or waiting in the marshalling yard.
Rule of thumb: If your carrier can't guarantee your target window, ship to the advance warehouse.
7 ways to cut drayage costs
- Hit your target window. Late and off-target surcharges are the most avoidable fees on the invoice. Ship with a carrier that schedules backward from your target date.
- Use a dedicated truck for larger exhibits. Freight that arrives mixed with other shippers' freight on an LTL truck is more likely to be classed as special handling. A dedicated truck lets the GSC unload cleanly.
- Crate and skid everything. Crated, forkliftable freight gets the standard rate. Loose, pad-wrapped items get special handling or uncrated rates.
- Consolidate into fewer shipments. Every shipment carries its own minimum. Five small shipments can each be billed at 200 lbs; one consolidated shipment avoids stacking minimums.
- Get a certified weight ticket. Shipments without a certified weight can be reweighed or billed at the GSC's estimate.
- Arrange outbound freight before the show. Fill out the Material Handling Agreement and book your return carrier in advance so your exhibit doesn't become forced freight.
- Store locally if you exhibit in the same city often. If you do several Las Vegas shows a year, storing your booth in Las Vegas between shows eliminates the round-trip linehaul entirely.
Drayage at Las Vegas shows
Las Vegas hosts more major trade shows than almost any city in the country, at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), Mandalay Bay, Venetian Expo, Caesars Forum and World Market Center. Big shows mean big freight volumes, tight move-in schedules, and marshalling yards that back up fast. Missing a target window here is easy, and expensive.
That's why the trucking side matters as much as the booth. A local carrier who knows the docks, the marshalling yards and the GSC check-in process can be the difference between a standard drayage bill and one loaded with surcharges.