What is drayage and how do you avoid it?

Shipping your work to and from shows can be a confusing (and expensive) proposition. Within the past week, I've answered questions from new and veteran shippers alike: Why did my freight cost so much? How do I get my booth from one show to another? Do I have to pay someone to unload my own car?

In future postings, I'll address all of these questions, but for today, we're going to talk drayage.

Drayage, or material handling, is the cost you pay to have your freight (crate, boxes, pallet) moved from the loading dock to your booth and back. In some cases, your drayage charge can be equal to what you paid to get your freight to the show in the first place, so it is vitally important that you pay attention to what your drayage charges could be and how you can minimize them.

Material handling fees are typically outlined in your exhibitor kit. Generally, they are charged by the show's general services contractor, or decorator, and are based on the weight of your shipment.

The assessment of drayage varies from show to show:

Free drayage or drayage included
In some buildings, drayage is charged not only for items that were shipped, but also applies when you bring your booth and product in your own car. In this case, many shows will simply increase the booth fee to cover the drayage so that everyone isn't charged for it separately.

Free drayage with preferred shipper
At other shows, those who drive their own cars may unload them at no charge and drayage is only assessed for those who ship their work. In cases such as these, it is often unfair to raise EVERYONE'S booth fee to cover drayage when it only applies to a small percentage of exhibitors. Show management will usually offer a "preferred shipper" (typically affiliated with the show decorator); ship in and out of the show with this company and you will not be assessed drayage fees (though you will probably pay slightly more for shipping). If you choose to use a different freight company, you will be charged the material handling fees outlined in your exhibitor kit.

No drayage included
In some rare instances, no aspect of drayage is covered by your booth fee. Regardless of who you ship with, you will be charged the material handling fee. In these cases, it is vital that you are acutely aware of the weight of your shipment and what fees you will be assessed. Keep your weight to a minimum.

Other things to be aware of:

If you are shipping from one show to another, you'll need to determine in which direction you will be charged the larger drayage fee. If ABC Freight is the preferred shipper for Show #1, and your drayage is free if you ship in and out of the show with them, but XYZ Shipping is the preferred shipper for Show #2 under the same circumstances, you will pay drayage at either Show #1 or Show #2 if you go directly from one to the other. Determine which show has the lower rates and ship accordingly.

It pays to shop around. In some instances, even if a show has a preferred shipper with no drayage fees, you may be able to find a competing shipping company whose rates are so much lower that even with paying drayage, your shipment will be less expensive than using the preferred shipper. At the very least, take the competing price quote to the preferred shipper and see if they can come close to matching it.