Trade show shipping
Trade show freight has two doors: the advance warehouse, which receives for weeks before the show, and the show site, which receives for a day or two during move-in. Most problems come from picking the wrong door for the freight, or missing the deadline on the right one.
Advance warehouse or direct to show?
The advance warehouse is the safer door. It receives for two to four weeks before the show, it can absorb a late truck, and the general service contractor delivers the freight to your booth before move-in opens. It costs a warehouse handling charge and means shipping earlier than feels necessary.
Direct to show skips the warehouse. Freight arrives during move-in, within a delivery window, often after the carrier checks in at a marshalling yard. It works well for large or late freight and badly for anything on a tight transit, because a truck that misses its window waits — sometimes until the next day.
Our usual advice: send the booth to the advance warehouse, and use direct to show for what was not ready in time.
The four dates that matter
Advance warehouse deadline. The last day the warehouse receives at the standard rate. Count transit days back from here, not from the show.
Direct-to-show window. The days and hours the show site receives, by booth if the show uses targeted move-in.
Carrier check-in deadline. When drivers must arrive at the marshalling yard. Your carrier’s appointment matters as much as the ship date.
Move-out. When outbound freight must be labeled, papered and booked, or it goes out on the contractor’s carrier at their rate.
What DTS does, and what the contractor does
DTS arranges and coordinates the transportation: the carrier, the pickup, the timing to the deadline, the paperwork, and the outbound move after the show. We work with carriers who run trade show freight and know what a marshalling yard is.
The show’s general service contractor handles everything inside the building — from the dock to your booth and back. That is material handling, or drayage, and the contractor bills it separately. It is not part of a freight quote from anyone.
Verified show pages
Each show page carries the warehouse and direct-to-show dates checked against the official exhibitor kit, the date we last checked, and what tends to go wrong at that show.
- SHOT Show 2027Las Vegas · Jan 19 – 22, 2027
- AHR Expo 2027Chicago · Jan 25 – 27, 2027
- Sample Expo 2027Las Vegas · Feb 9 – 11, 2027
Shipping to a show?
Tell us the show, the origin and the freight, and we will come back with carrier options timed to the warehouse deadline or the move-in window.
Get a Freight QuoteDTS is a freight broker. We arrange and coordinate transportation to and from trade shows through our carrier network. We do not operate warehouses, own trucks, or move material on the show floor.