Every exhibitor kit assumes you know these words. Most exhibitors learn them from an invoice. Here they are in advance, with the part the kit leaves out: what each one costs and what to do about it.
Accessorial charges. Extra carrier fees beyond the line-haul rate: liftgate, inside delivery, residential, waiting time, redelivery, fuel surcharge. Ask for every one before booking; expect them on the invoice.
Advance price / discount price. The lowest price for a product or service, available until the discount deadline, typically three weeks before move-in. Order everything by this date.
Advance warehouse. The contractor's receiving location for freight shipped before the show, usually open from about 30 days before move-in until about a week before. Freight is held and delivered to your booth before you arrive. The safe route for almost all freight; use the exact address from the kit.
Advance warehouse deadline. The last day freight can arrive at the warehouse at the base rate. After it, a late surcharge, commonly around 25%.
ATA carnet. An international customs document for temporary import of goods that will leave the country again — the booth, demo units. International exhibitors; apply weeks ahead.
Bill of lading (BOL). The carrier's shipping document. Inbound, it needs certified weights. Outbound at a show, the contractor's version is the material handling agreement.
Booth types. Inline (one side open, in a row), corner (two sides open), perimeter (inline along the hall wall, often taller back wall allowed), peninsula (three sides open, at the end of a row), island (four sides open), table-top, shared, pavilion (a group of exhibitors under one banner). Booth type drives height rules, hanging-sign eligibility, design-approval deadlines and cost.
Cart service / POV unloading. A flat-rate service for exhibitors unloading a personal vehicle, with weight and time limits. For small exhibitors driving in, far cheaper than per-CWT drayage.
Certified weight ticket. A scale ticket from a certified scale showing your shipment's weight. Get one before pickup; it's your evidence in a drayage dispute.
Crated. Freight that can be unloaded with a forklift and no extra handling — crates, skids, pallets. Base drayage rate.
CWT. Hundredweight — 100 pounds. The unit most material handling is billed in. Weight rounds up to the next 100; minimums apply.
Dark day. A day during move-in or move-out when the hall and services are closed. No freight, no labor; plan around it.
Direct to show site. Freight shipped straight to the venue during move-in, in your targeted window. Correct for heavy or oversized freight; risky for everyone else.
Dismantle. Teardown labor at the end of the show. Usually on overtime; confirm the call on move-in day.
Double time (DT). Labor billed at twice the straight-time rate — Sundays, holidays, sometimes late-night hours. Avoid by scheduling.
Drayage. See material handling. Same thing; older word.
EAC — exhibitor-appointed contractor. Any contractor you hire other than the official ones — an exhibit house, an I&D company. Show management needs notice and the EAC's insurance certificate by a deadline, usually 30 days before move-in.
Empties / empty labels. Your emptied crates and cases, labeled and taken to storage during the show, returned at move-out. Label early; remove everything you need first; no access during the show.
Exclusive service. A service only one provider may perform at a venue — commonly material handling, rigging, cleaning, electrical, catering. Separate deadlines and invoices.
Exhibitor kit / exhibitor service manual (ESM). The contractor's document for the show: dates, rules, rates, order forms. Read the Quick Facts and the vendor list first.
Floor price / show-site price. The price for anything ordered on site. Often 30–50% above advance; card required at time of order.
Forced freight. What happens when your carrier doesn't check in by the deadline: the contractor either reroutes your freight on a carrier of their choice or returns it to their warehouse for pickup — whichever you elected on the MHA. At your expense, at their rates. Put the check-in time on everyone's phone.
Forklift / equipment. Ordered equipment with operator, by the hour, with minimums. Advance deadline applies.
General service contractor (GSC). Also general contractor, official contractor, official service contractor. The company hired by the organizer to build and service the show. Produces the kit, runs the service desk, exclusive on material handling.
Hand-carry. Where a venue allows it, what one person can carry in one trip without wheeled equipment, usually through the front door. In most major halls it isn't allowed and you will pay material handling; exceptions are decided per show, per city and per union, more often in right-to-work states. Confirm with the contractor before you plan around it.
Hanging sign. Anything suspended over the booth. Requires rigging (exclusive), drawings by a deadline, design approval, and a booth type that allows it.
I&D. Installation and dismantle — the labor to build and tear down the booth.
ID sign. The small sign with your company name supplied with the booth. Usually included; the name on it comes from the organizer's exhibitor list.
Lead retrieval. The organizer's badge-scanning system, rented by exhibitors. Advance deadline; test on move-in day.
Marshalling yard. The staging area where trucks wait to be called to the dock. Carriers check in here (or at the dock, depending on the venue); waiting time can be billed by the carrier.
Material handling. The contractor's one all-inclusive, round-trip charge: dock to booth, empties stored during the show and returned at close, and packed freight from the booth back to the dock. Billed by weight. Not shipping; a separate charge from your carrier's.
Material handling agreement (MHA). Your contractual agreement with the contractor to move your packed freight from the booth to your carrier — or, if you choose, back to their warehouse for pickup. It states what's leaving, piece count, destination and carrier, and it's how you tell them what to do if your carrier doesn't show. One per destination; no MHA, no release. File online in advance where offered.
Move-in / move-out. The scheduled periods for building and tearing down. Dates and hours in the kit; targeted move-in assigns you a window.
Off-target. Direct-to-site freight arriving outside your targeted window. Surcharge, commonly around 25%, plus waiting.
Overtime (OT). Labor and sometimes receiving billed above straight time — early mornings, evenings, Saturdays in most kits. Typically 1.5×.
Pad-wrapped. Freight protected only by moving blankets. Billed as uncrated; often refused by the warehouse.
Pipe and drape. The metal frame and fabric curtain that defines a standard booth. Graphics don't mount to it the way they do to hardwall.
Priority empty return. A paid label that gets your empties back first at move-out. Limited quantity; sells out; cheap relative to the overtime it saves.
Quick Facts. The kit's summary page of dates, deadlines, addresses and contacts. Your calendar comes from here.
Rigging. Suspending anything from the venue ceiling. Exclusive, scheduled, drawing-dependent.
Service desk / exhibitor service center. The contractor's on-site help desk. Disputes before close, empties labels, MHAs, on-site orders.
Show management. The organizer. Rules, registration, directory, design approvals.
Sightlines. Organizer rules limiting booth heights and side walls so booths don't block each other. Strict for inline booths.
Small package. Courier shipments under the kit's weight threshold — historically 1–50 lb, higher in some kits now; it varies by contractor. Flat rate per package, often treated as special handling; over the threshold, the shipment rounds to the 200-lb minimum. Consolidate.
Special handling. Freight that takes extra time or equipment to unload — ground unloading, stacked or constricted loads, mixed loads with loose pieces, courier deliveries. About 30% over base.
Standard price. The price between the discount deadline and show open. Typically 20–30% over advance.
Straight time (ST). Normal business hours on weekdays, the base labor rate. Schedule installs here.
Supervision (contractor-supervised labor). The contractor manages your labor call instead of you. Adds a percentage, commonly around 30%, with a minimum; the crew works to the contractor's schedule.
Target date / targeted move-in. Your assigned date and time for direct-to-site freight and sometimes for arriving on site. Missing it is off-target.
Uncrated. Loose, pad-wrapped or unskidded freight. About 50% over base; loads more than half uncrated bill entirely as uncrated.
24-hour power. Electrical service that stays on overnight. Separate order; needed for fridges, some demos.
If a term in your kit isn't here, it's probably a local name for one that is. The planner shows these definitions inline wherever the term appears, with the dollar impact for your show.
Frequently asked questions
- What does CWT mean on a trade show invoice?
- Hundredweight, or 100 pounds. Material handling is billed per CWT, rounded up to the next hundred pounds, with a minimum per shipment of typically 200 pounds.
- What is an EAC at a trade show?
- An exhibitor-appointed contractor — any contractor you hire other than the official ones, such as an exhibit house or install crew. Show management needs notice and the EAC's insurance certificate by a deadline, usually 30 days before move-in.
- What is a target date at a trade show?
- Your assigned date and time for direct-to-site freight on a targeted move-in show. Freight arriving outside the window pays an off-target surcharge and waits.
- What is special handling in material handling?
- Freight that takes extra time or equipment to unload — ground unloading without a dock, stacked or constricted loads, mixed loads with loose pieces, and courier deliveries. It is billed at roughly 30% over the base rate.
More exhibitor guides
Every figure in this guide is a typical range. Your show's exhibitor service manual governs the actual dates, rates and rules.