Targeted move-in
At big shows, the contractor schedules the loading docks by giving each booth a target date and time. HD Expo 2025: "Your target date refers to the date & time that your freight must arrive on show site." It applies to the freight's arrival, not to when your setup starts. AAPEX 2026 at the Venetian Expo puts it the same way: freight "must be delivered on the assigned target date."
Trucks go to the marshaling yard first, where GES weighs every inbound shipment. Arriving off target costs money: IMEX America 2026 lists an "Off Target Surcharge" of $25, and at Be+Well Las Vegas 2026 trucks signing in after 2:00 PM may be billed at the overtime rate.
Move-out and the outbound paperwork
When the show closes, nothing leaves the hall without paperwork. Freeman: "Each outbound shipment must have a completed Material Handling Agreement." Your carrier must check in by the deadline (for example by 11:00 AM on the final move-out day at AAEP 2026, Mandalay Bay).
Crated freight needs labels; GES charges a surcharge for freight left on the floor with no labels and no outbound release form.
Forced freight
If your carrier does not show up, the contractor ships your freight anyway: "In the event your selected carrier fails to show on final move-out day, Freeman reserves the right to re-route your freight onto another carrier." The cost goes to you, and neither Freeman nor GES publishes a price for it, which makes it one of the most expensive surprises of a show. Freight with no outbound paperwork can be sent back to the address on file at your expense.
What gets thrown away
RE+ 2026: items left after move-out "will be considered trash and will be discarded at the EXHIBITOR'S EXPENSE." That includes literature, giveaways and display parts nobody packed.
Move-in and move-out with BoothJet
We book the target times, bring the booth, install it before the show opens and take it down and ship it after closing. You arrive to a finished booth and leave when the show ends; there is no outbound paperwork or carrier to schedule. Products and giveaways you bring yourself stay your responsibility.
Questions
What happens if my truck misses its target time?
It can be held to a later slot, billed at overtime rates, or charged an off-target surcharge, depending on the show.
What is forced freight?
Freight the show contractor ships on its own chosen carrier because yours did not show up or the paperwork was missing. You pay for it.
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