Drayage and Union Labor at Chicago Trade Shows, Explained

If you have exhibited at McCormick Place, Navy Pier, or the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center before, you have probably already had one uncomfortable surprise on an invoice. If you have not, this is the one to read before you do. Drayage and union labor are not scare stories — they are standard, predictable costs at any major Chicago venue — but almost nobody explains them to exhibitors before the bill arrives.

What drayage actually is

Drayage is the fee for moving your freight from the loading dock to your booth space, storing empty crates during the show, and returning everything to the dock afterward. It is billed by the show's official general contractor, not the venue itself, and it is charged by weight — typically per hundred pounds (a "CWT" rate) with a minimum charge regardless of how light your shipment is.

The number that catches people off guard: drayage is not a flat delivery fee. It covers material handling on both ends of the show, and rates vary by whether your freight arrives at the advance warehouse ahead of the show or direct to the dock during move-in, with advance-warehouse rates usually cheaper per hundredweight but requiring earlier shipping.

A heavy custom exhibit shipped in wooden crates can rack up a drayage bill that rivals the cost of a modest portable display — for freight handling alone, before the booth itself is considered.

Why weight is the number that matters

Because drayage bills by weight, the single most effective way to control this cost is to reduce what you ship. This is the practical link between drayage and display selection: a portable display that fits in one or two wheeled cases at 50-150 pounds total can avoid drayage charges close to entirely by qualifying for hand-carry rules, while a crated custom exhibit at 1,000+ pounds cannot.

This is not an argument that portable is always right — a large custom exhibit earns its freight cost when the booth is a primary sales channel. It is an argument for knowing the trade-off before you commit to a shipping method, not after the invoice arrives.

What "hand-carry" actually allows

Most Chicago-area venues allow exhibitors to hand-carry their own materials into the hall without triggering drayage or union material handling, provided the material fits specific limits — generally: no wheeled cart or hand truck, one trip, carried in one or two hands without mechanical assistance. Rules and exact limits vary by show and general contractor, so confirm against your specific exhibitor manual rather than assuming a size that worked at a different show.

A single rolling case that an exhibitor pulls in themselves generally qualifies. A stack of crates on a hand truck generally does not, even if one person is technically capable of pushing it.

Union labor jurisdiction: what you can and can't do yourself

At major venues including McCormick Place, certain categories of booth work fall under union jurisdiction and legally cannot be performed by exhibitor staff, regardless of skill or willingness. The categories that most commonly apply:

• Material handling (unloading, moving crates to your booth, empty storage) — this is the drayage work itself, performed by union labor by default.
• Rigging and hanging signage — anything suspended overhead in an island or peninsula booth typically requires union riggers, regardless of how simple the sign is.
• Electrical — running power to your booth from the venue's grid is usually electrician's jurisdiction, ordered separately from your booth build.

What exhibitors generally can do themselves: assembling their own display hardware, hanging their own graphics on their own frame, and basic booth setup that does not involve overhead rigging or venue electrical infrastructure. The line is not always intuitive — when in doubt, ask the show's general contractor before move-in, not during it.

Budgeting for both, realistically

For a typical 10x10 or 10x20 exhibitor shipping a portable or modular display, drayage and labor are a manageable line item if planned for — often a few hundred dollars. For a larger custom exhibit shipped in crates with hanging signage, budget meaningfully more, and get a written estimate from the show's general contractor during the planning phase rather than guessing from a previous show's invoice, since rates and minimums change.

The planning rule that holds up across booth sizes: request the exhibitor kit and material handling rate sheet as soon as your booth space is confirmed, not the week of the show. Advance-warehouse drayage rates are typically lower, but only if your freight ships early enough to qualify.

How this factors into display selection

We build this into recommendations from the first conversation. If your show calendar includes multiple Chicago venues in a year, a lighter, hand-carry-eligible portable display can save real money across every show, not just one. If you are building toward a flagship annual presence, a custom exhibit may be worth the drayage and labor cost outright — the point is making that call deliberately, with the real numbers in front of you, rather than discovering them on the show floor.

Tell us your venue, your booth size, and your show calendar and we will walk through what drayage and labor are likely to cost before you ship anything. Get in touch.