Business Barometer: Taking the Temperature

The economic downturn took its toll on most every industry sector last year. This year likely is to be a mixed bag at best. As 2010 gets underway, Tradeshow Week begins a periodic feature in which we take snapshots of different sectors as they take steps to recover. For this business barometer, TSW looks at the automotive, building and health care sectors.

By the time the North American Intl. Auto Show, scheduled Jan. 11-24 at Detroit's Cobo Center, closes its doors, it will have attracted more exhibitors, countries represented, attendees and industry insiders than last year's show, according to Doug Fox, chairman of this year's show.

“We're hopeful that we've hit the bottom (of the recession),” he said. “I think 2010 will be considerably more stable with gradual improvement as we approach the fourth quarter.”

One of the only areas not to see a rise has been the number of international journalists, Fox added, because “there's much more of a broad interest in doing more with fewer people.”

Also this year, he said, a big change from past shows is that many exhibits were assembled offsite and brought to the venue in modular form, which likely will be a trend going forward. “It's a cost-effective way of constructing exhibits,” Fox added.

Fox said he expects the industry will see a lot more from Chrysler this year and more startup exhibitors with small exhibits, featuring products like electronic vehicles.

At the New York Intl. Auto Show, April 2-11 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York, this year may be better than last, according to Candida Romanelli, the show's director, who added the showfloor already is sold out.

“People are very interested in automobiles, and they're very interested in technology,” she said. “We have a cautiously optimistic outlook for the future.”

Last year, the show attracted 1 million attendees and more than 150 exhibitors to a 850,000 net square foot showfloor, according to Romanelli. It didn't do quite as well as in 2008, with a 12-percent drop in attendance from the year before, but was better than expected. “We anticipated a 20-percent drop,” Romanelli said, adding she's pleasantly surprised with the draw this year, and that it did not come easily.

“We've been negotiating every line item, changing vendors and doing a lot of electronic communication,” she added. “One thing we haven't done is sacrifice the quality of the show.”

The Intl. Builders' Show/NextBuild, ranked No. 7 on the 2009 TSW 200, decreased significantly from 2008 to last year, and again is expected to see drops when it takes place Jan. 19-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, according to Mark Pursell, senior staff vice president of exhibitions, marketing and sales at the Natl. Assn. of Homebuilders.

Pursell said while he doesn't know “how quick or robust recovery will be,” he expects it to come this year. “I believe we've bottomed out, and we're starting to come back from the recession,” he added.

However, Pursell said, “If recovery doesn't hit until late 2010, I probably won't see any growth at the show (in 2011).”

To spur the show's recovery, the Natl. Assn. of Homebuilders has taken several actions this year, including offering a discounted program for exhibitors for the first time, working closely with contractors to control on-site costs, investing more in marketing to help boost attendance and quality educational programs.

Another industry show not as fortunate – in fact, canceled this year – was the 2009 TSW 200 No. 27-ranked Midwest Manufactured Housing Show.

According to Ron Thomas Sr., president of the Midwest Manufactured Housing Federation, the 52-year-old show that normally is a “powerhouse” was canceled for the first time ever after a dismal 2009 that lost many exhibitors whose businesses have suffered because of the credit crunch. “There's lending activity, but it's all at the high end,” he said. “Eighty percent of the market is not being addressed.”

Thomas added, “My expectations are that when banks start lending in a reasonable fashion, we'll be back on track.”

The show is expected to take place again next year because there is tremendous industry need for it, he said, but plans are not set in stone yet. “We're going to try to be as innovative as we possibly can,” Thomas added. “We have good, knowledgeable people on our industry committee who are going to try to (organize) a show the industry needs to have.”

When the TSW 200 No. 49-ranked Healthcare & Information Management Systems Society Annual Conference & Exhibition took place last year, its draw dropped slightly from 2008, but, March 1-4 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, it's expected to be the same as or better than last year, according to Karen Malone, HIMSS vice president of meeting services.

Malone said this year she feels the health care industry overall is a hot one to be in. “(There is) lots of interest due to new regulations and health care reform legislation,” she added.

As for what HIMSS will do to improve going forward, Malone said exhibitors will be offered different options for their participation in the conference that will better help them reach their clients, beyond physical exhibit space and sponsorships. Also, meeting space will be offered off the exhibit floor, but in the convention center to help attendees conveniently connect, and “hot off the press” educational programming and town hall meetings will be offered.

At the Greater New York Dental Meeting, ranked No. 136 on the 2009 TSW 200, last year was a good one that brought increases in attendance, compared with the previous year (from 49,884 attendees in 2008 to 59,166 last year), due in large part to the show changing and improving its programs.

And when it takes place Nov. 26-Dec. 1 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York, increases are expected again, according to Dr. Robert R. Edwab, the meeting's executive director.

“Along with the rest of the market, the health care industry took a hit from the recession, but there is definitive evidence that things are looking up for everyone, including the health care industry,” he said.

Edwab added his show will grow and strengthen this year by marketing to more attendees; rolling out new seminars and workshops; adding another Live Dentistry Arena to the showfloor, along with additional glass classrooms; and continuing to educate schoolchildren on hygiene and nutrition.

“One theory we subscribe to is that if you're not innovating each year, then your event will not grow,” he said.