NRLA LBM Expo 2027The exhibitor guide: booth costs, dates and deadlines

The 2027 dates are not confirmed yet. NRLA's events page and lbmexpo.net list only the 2026 show, Wednesday, December 9 to Thursday, December 10, 2026, with NRLA's Annual Meeting held alongside on December 10. We plan your 2027 booth as soon as NRLA posts the dates.

The 2026 show is at the Earth Expo & Convention Center at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. NRLA has not announced the 2027 venue, so it is not confirmed yet; this page plans from the Mohegan Sun schedule and NRLA's published booth rules.

For 2026 NRLA charges members $37 per square foot for booths up to 200 square feet and $34 above, so a member 10×20 is $7,400 before corners; non-members pay $44 and $43. Corners add $100 or $200 each. Our 10×20 rental adds $7,500 to $15,000.

By points, in two phases. For 2026, complete applications with a 50% deposit received by May 22 were placed by points and later ones first come, first served. Points come from NRLA shows exhibited since 1996, exhibitor and membership years, booth size, and 2% of sponsorship, Lumber Co-operator advertising and NYLE dues.

First-time exhibitors earn few points, so they place after returning companies, but NRLA reserves its 8×10 booths for new exhibitors, member associations and companies that have not exhibited since 2017, with a waiting list once they sell out. We design an 8×10 kit that grows into a 10×20.

NRLA sets linear booths at 8 feet maximum toward the back wall and 4 feet along the aisle, with 12 feet allowed at the back of perimeter booths. Peninsulas start at 20×20 and may reach 20 feet at the back wall's center, and islands may use their full cube up to 4 feet below the ceiling.

NRLA prohibits exhibitors from using mechanized or hydraulic material moving equipment, including forklifts, pallet jacks, rider jacks and scissor lifts; only dollies and hand trucks are allowed. Shepard's crews handle heavy freight, so we design product displays that set by hand.

Shepard Exposition Services is the official service contractor. Exhibitors order through Shepard's ExhibitorPro kit, selecting LBM Expo 2026 after activating an account, and must pay for all contractor services before the show closes. We place your Shepard orders and handle the freight.

The 2027 schedule is not confirmed yet. In 2026 registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and the show floor runs 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Wednesday, December 9 and Thursday, December 10, with lunch on the show floor from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For 2026 NRLA set a 50% deposit by May 21 and the balance by July 15, payable to NRLA in U.S. funds, and late payment can cost your placement. The 2027 payment dates are not confirmed yet; we time design sign-off well after your space is paid.

Only with NRLA approval and through the official caterer, and dispensing alcohol is prohibited. Sound must stay around 80 to 90 decibels measured from the center aisle, with no continuously flashing lights. We plan a coffee or snack counter through the caterer if you want one.

We rent LBM Expo booths with framed product walls, deck or window vignettes, counters, lighting and graphics, built in panels that set by hand under NRLA's no-forklift rule. The kit can return at IBS, JLC Live or a buying-group show.

For manufacturers and distributors whose products sell through independent Northeast lumberyards, it gathers those dealers in one hall for two days, and NRLA reported more than 75% of the 2026 floor sold well before the show. Returning exhibitors earn points, so a long-term plan pays off.