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Drayage is the handling of exhibit freight at a trade show, covering the move from the loading dock to the booth, storage of empty crates and the return at move-out.
Drayage begins when a crate arrives at the venue and ends when it leaves. In between it covers unloading from the truck, moving freight to the assigned booth, taking empty crates away and storing them for the run of the show, returning them at the end, and moving the repacked freight back to the dock. It is a handling charge, not a shipping charge.
Drayage is usually quoted per hundredweight with a minimum, so a small heavy crate can cost more to move fifty feet inside the hall than it cost to ship across the country. Charges also stack. Freight arriving outside the published window, on a weekend, or at the show site rather than the advance warehouse each carries its own rate. An exhibitor who budgets shipping and forgets drayage will be out by a wide margin.
Sending freight to the advance warehouse ahead of the deadline usually costs less per hundredweight and guarantees the crate is in the booth when the exhibitor arrives. Direct to show site looks cheaper for late shipments but puts the crate in a dock queue on move-in day. Most experienced exhibitors use the advance warehouse for anything they cannot afford to be missing.
Drayage is handled by the general service contractor, not the venue and not the show organizer. Rates, deadlines and material handling forms are published in the exhibitor service manual, which is the document to read before booking any freight. Organizers who want exhibitors to get this right put it in the exhibitor management materials early rather than two weeks out.
