Free tool and reference · 2026–2027 planning rates
Las Vegas drayage rates: what material handling really costs
Drayage is the fee for moving your freight from the dock to your booth and back. It is the line first-time Las Vegas exhibitors underestimate most. Here are planning rates for all four venues, every surcharge that stacks on top, an estimator, and ten ways to cut the bill.
Why this page exists
Every Las Vegas show contractor publishes a drayage tariff, but each one is buried in a 120-page exhibitor kit and written for people who already know what CWT means. Exhibitors find out what they owe when the invoice arrives after the show.
This page puts the planning numbers for all four venues in one place, explains every surcharge in plain words, and gives you an estimator you can use before you sign the booth contract. The rates are Purple Exhibits' planning figures from recent Las Vegas invoices, rounded. Your show's exhibitor kit has the exact tariff and it wins if they differ.
The basics
What drayage is and how it is billed
Drayage, also called material handling, covers unloading your freight at the dock or advance warehouse, delivering it to your booth, storing your empty crates during the show, bringing them back at move-out, and reloading your carrier. It does not include the truck that brought the freight to Las Vegas.
Per hundredweight (CWT)
The bill is weight-based: your shipment weight divided by 100, rounded up, times the rate. A 1,850 lb shipment is billed as 19 CWT.
200 lb per shipment
Every separately delivered shipment carries a 200 lb minimum. Five small boxes on five bills of lading cost five minimums; the same boxes on one pallet cost one.
Crated beats uncrated
Crated, skidded or palletized freight gets the base rate. Loose, pad-wrapped or uncrated freight is billed about 30 percent higher because it takes longer to handle.
Advance warehouse vs. direct
Advance warehouse freight arrives up to 30 days early and is on your booth before you get there. Direct-to-show freight goes to a marshaling yard and is unloaded in order of check-in.
Late and off-target penalties
Freight after the advance-warehouse deadline pays about 25 percent more. Direct freight that misses its target date or time pays about 30 percent more, when the contractor accepts it at all.
Special handling
Mixed loads, side-door unloads, ground unloads without a dock, missing bills of lading and stacked freight that must be sorted all trigger a special-handling rate, about 35 percent over base.
By venue
Planning rates by venue, 2026–2027
Illustrative planning rates per CWT for crated freight, with the surcharged categories worked out. Contractors and shows set the real tariff; use the show kit for the invoice, this table for the budget.
| Venue | Crated, advance | Uncrated | Late to warehouse | Special handling | What is different here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Las Vegas Convention Center | $185 | $241 | $231 | $250 | Four halls, four dock areas. Outdoor lots for machinery. LVCC guide |
| Venetian Expo | $195 | $254 | $244 | $263 | One dock complex; Level 2 freight rides elevators and some shows add a Level 2 line. Venetian guide |
| Mandalay Bay Convention Center | $185 | $241 | $231 | $250 | Single-level halls, dock wall on the east side, fast dock-to-booth. Mandalay Bay guide |
| Caesars Forum | $195 | $254 | $244 | $263 | Carpeted ballrooms; some events bill per piece instead of per CWT. Caesars Forum guide |
All venues: 200 lb minimum per shipment. Rates are planning figures rounded from recent invoices; they are not a contractor's published tariff.
Free tool
Las Vegas drayage estimator
Pick the venue and describe the shipment. The estimator applies the venue's planning rate, the 200 lb minimum per shipment, and every surcharge that applies.
Embed this estimator
Show organizers and exhibitor blogs can embed it in one line. It links back here.
Cite the numbers
For anyone writing about the cost of exhibiting in Las Vegas.
Fine print
Every surcharge, explained
| Line on the invoice | What triggers it | Typical add-on | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncrated / pad-wrapped | Freight not in a crate, case or on a skid | +30% | Crate it, or strap it to a pallet and shrink-wrap. |
| Special handling | Mixed loads, side-door or ground unload, stacked freight needing sorting, no bill of lading | +35% | One carrier, one bill of lading, dock-height truck, labeled crates. |
| Late to warehouse | Arrives after the advance-warehouse deadline | +25% | Ship to arrive two weeks before the deadline. |
| Off-target | Direct freight missing its assigned date or window | +30% | Use the advance warehouse instead of direct-to-show. |
| Overtime | Freight moved before 8 a.m., after 4:30 p.m., or on weekends, set by the show schedule | +25–50% | Often unavoidable; the show sets the move-in hours. Budget for it on Sunday move-ins. |
| Small package | Cartons under about 30 lb sent by parcel carrier | Flat per carton | Ship small items inside the booth crates. |
| Empty storage | None if crates carry EMPTY labels; unlabeled crates are not stored | Included | Label empties as you unpack. |
| Marshaling yard fee | Some shows charge per truck check-in | $50–$150 | Consolidate shipments so one truck checks in. |
| Return handling | Freight not picked up by the carrier before the move-out deadline is forced to the contractor's carrier | Full drayage again plus freight | Book the outbound carrier before the show opens. |
Save money
10 ways to cut your drayage bill
- Consolidate to one shipment. One carrier, one bill of lading, one 200 lb minimum. Purple ships the booth, graphics, giveaways and collateral as a single load.
- Crate everything. The uncrated surcharge is 30 percent. Cases and skids count as crated.
- Ship advance warehouse. No marshaling yard, no off-target penalty, and the booth is on the floor on day one.
- Arrive two weeks before the deadline. The late fee is 25 percent and the deadline is earlier than you think.
- Build lighter. Drayage is billed by weight. An aluminum frame with fabric graphics can weigh half of a wood-and-laminate booth, and half the weight is half the bill.
- Label empties immediately. Unlabeled crates are not stored and get billed as forced freight at move-out.
- Use a dock-height truck. Ground unloads and side-door trucks trigger special handling.
- Put small cartons inside the crates. Parcel deliveries are billed per carton and get lost.
- Book outbound freight before the show opens. Freight without a carrier at the deadline is forced onto the contractor's carrier at a premium.
- Store the booth in Las Vegas between shows. Local freight is shorter, cheaper and easier to hit the warehouse window with. Purple's Las Vegas warehouse does this for the Vegas circuit.
Vocabulary
Drayage glossary
| Advance warehouse | The contractor's warehouse that accepts freight up to about 30 days before the show and delivers it to the booth before move-in. |
| Bill of lading (BOL) | The shipping document listing the carrier, contents, weight and piece count. One BOL equals one shipment for drayage. |
| CWT | Hundredweight, 100 pounds. The unit drayage is billed in. |
| Direct to show | Freight sent to the venue during move-in instead of the advance warehouse. Unloaded in check-in order. |
| Drayage | The fee for moving freight between the dock or warehouse and the booth, storing empties, and reloading at move-out. Also called material handling. |
| EAC | Exhibitor Appointed Contractor: an outside company, such as Purple, authorized to work on your booth. Requires a form and insurance certificate. |
| Empties | Crates and cases emptied at set-up, stored by the contractor when labeled, returned at move-out. |
| Forced freight | Freight left on the floor after the move-out deadline with no carrier, shipped by the contractor's carrier at your cost. |
| Marshaling yard | The lot where direct-to-show trucks check in and wait to be called to the dock. |
| MHA | Material Handling Agreement, the outbound form that must be turned in before freight leaves the floor. |
| Special handling | Any unload that takes extra labor: mixed loads, side doors, ground unloads, stacked or unsorted freight, missing paperwork. |
| Target date | The assigned date and window for direct-to-show trucks. Missing it costs an off-target surcharge. |
Questions
Drayage FAQ
Why is drayage so expensive in Las Vegas?
Union material handling, high dock volume, and the fact that every show routes through a few contractors. The rate is the rate; what you control is weight, crating, timing and the number of shipments.
Is drayage the same as shipping?
No. Shipping is the truck from your city to Las Vegas. Drayage is the handling between the dock or warehouse and the booth, both ways, plus empty storage. You pay both.
How is a 10×20 rental booth's drayage typically calculated?
A 10×20 rental usually ships in one or two crates around 1,200 to 2,000 lb. At $185 per CWT that is about $2,200 to $3,700 crated and on time, before overtime.
Does the 200 lb minimum apply per crate or per shipment?
Per shipment, meaning per bill of lading delivered. Three crates on one BOL are one shipment.
Can I hand-carry items to avoid drayage?
Most Las Vegas shows allow one person to hand-carry what they can manage in one trip without wheels. Anything on a cart or dolly goes through the contractor.
Why did my invoice show overtime?
The show scheduled your move-in or move-out outside straight-time hours. It is set by the show, not by you, so budget for it when move-in falls on a Sunday.
Do the rates differ between the LVCC and the Venetian?
Slightly, and by contractor rather than by building. The bigger difference is logistics: the Venetian's single dock and Level 2 elevators, the Forum's carpet and per-piece billing at some events.
Can Purple handle drayage for me?
Drayage is always paid to the show contractor, but Purple books it, consolidates the freight, files the paperwork, labels the empties and reconciles the invoice so you pay once and pay correctly.
Want the exact number for your show?
Send us the show name, booth size and where the booth is now. You get a drayage estimate from the current tariff and a consolidated shipping plan within two business days.
Venue guides
Every venue we have a guide for
Same standard, every hall: the building, the rules, the tools and the calendar.