PMA Award Winner
Drayage is one of the most misunderstood costs in trade show budgeting. It's the fee for moving your exhibit materials from the loading dock to your booth—and back again after the show. The charges are based on weight, and they add up faster than most exhibitors expect.
Use this calculator to estimate your drayage costs before you get the invoice.
Estimate material handling costs for transporting your exhibit from the dock to your booth space.
Note:These estimates are for planning purposes and may not reflect final costs. Default drayage rates are based on 2022 industry data from EDPA and the Event Marketing Institute.
When your crates arrive at a convention center, they don't magically appear at your booth. The show's general contractor (GC) handles all material movement inside the facility—unloading trucks, transporting crates to your booth space, removing empty containers, and reversing the process at teardown. That service is called drayage, and it's billed by weight.
Drayage is charged per CWT, which stands for "hundredweight"—an old shipping term that simply means per 100 pounds. If your shipment weighs 1,200 pounds and the rate is $3.00 per CWT, you're looking at $36 in base drayage charges (12 CWT × $3.00). But that's just the starting point.
Rate: Before vs. After Deadline Most shows offer a discounted drayage rate if your materials arrive by a certain deadline—often called "advance warehouse" or "early bird" shipping. Miss that window, and you'll pay the standard rate, which can be 30–50% higher. The calculator includes typical before/after rates, but check your show's exhibitor kit for exact pricing.
Weight Drayage is calculated on the greater of actual weight or dimensional weight. Your freight carrier or exhibit house can give you the total weight of your shipment. When in doubt, round up—surprises here are never in your favor.
Time Rate Labor at convention centers is often unionized, and overtime rates apply outside of standard working hours. If your freight arrives or departs during overtime windows (evenings, weekends, holidays), expect a 1.25× multiplier on labor-related charges. Some shows apply a blended rate if your move spans both straight time and overtime.
First-time exhibitors often budget for booth space and shipping, then get blindsided by drayage. A few reasons this happens:
It's charged both ways. You pay to move materials in and out. That 1,200-pound shipment? You're paying drayage twice—once at setup, once at teardown.
Minimums apply. Many shows have a minimum charge (often 200 CWT or equivalent), regardless of your actual shipment weight. Small booths get hit hardest here.
Special handling adds up. Oversized crates, uncrated materials, or anything requiring a forklift may incur additional fees beyond standard drayage.
Rates vary wildly by venue. A major Las Vegas convention center and a regional hotel ballroom have very different cost structures. Always check the exhibitor service kit for your specific show.
1. Ship light. Every pound costs money. Use lightweight exhibit materials where possible—fabric graphics instead of rigid panels, aluminum frames instead of steel, modular components instead of custom-built heavy structures.
2. Meet the advance deadline. Early bird rates exist for a reason. Build your shipping timeline around the discount deadline and stick to it.
3. Consolidate shipments. Multiple small shipments often cost more than one consolidated shipment. Work with your exhibit house to pack efficiently.
4. Skip the crates when possible. Some portable and modular exhibits ship in soft cases or roto-molded containers that are lighter than traditional wood crates. Less weight = less drayage.
5. Use a direct-to-booth carrier. Some freight companies offer "direct" or "specialty" delivery that bypasses the GC's drayage system entirely. This isn't available at every venue, but when it is, it can save significantly on larger shipments.
6. Know your show's rules. Some venues allow exhibitors to hand-carry small items (typically under 30 pounds per person) without drayage charges. Check the exhibitor manual.
Drayage isn't just a shipping problem—it's a design problem. The choices you make about your exhibit structure, materials, and graphics all affect what you'll pay to move it.
Rental exhibits often have a drayage advantage: they ship from a local warehouse (sometimes the same city as the show), and the exhibit house handles logistics. Lightweight modular systems are specifically engineered to reduce shipping and drayage costs over time.
If you're tired of drayage eating into your trade show budget, we can help you find an exhibit solution that's designed to ship smarter.