Show of the Week: The Intl. Builders' Show & NextBuild

Where: Orange Country Convention Center, Orlando (rotates)

When: Feb. 13-16 (annual)

Show manager: Natl. Assn. of Home Builders

Who exhibits: Manufacturers of goods and services related to the building of single- and multi-family housing, as well as commercial and industrial structures

Who attends: Builders, developers, remodelers, wholesale and retail dealers, architects, subcontractors and lenders

2007 show statistics: 1,039,035 net sq. ft.; 1,927 exhibitors; 74,084 professional attendees

First year of show: 1944

New this year: NextBuild. NAHB renamed the former TecHomExpo, an area featuring home-building technologies.

The bottom Line: At the end of October, NAHB said the show was bucking the downward housing trend with registration that was up 15 percent over the same period a year earlier. But since then, the sub-prime mortgage fallout has hit the market even harder. How will it all play out for the show?

Source: 2008 TSW Data Book; Tradeshow Week research; Natl. Assn. of Home Builders