The Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) Index Report shows that the overall exhibition industry hit bottom in 2010, and that the industry should see a modest recovery during the next three years in all metrics across most sectors.
The CEIR Index Report reveals that the overall exhibition industry fell for a third straight year in 2010, declining by 2.4%.
Revenue suffered the largest decline of 8.4%. A positive sign is that attendance, the leading indicator of the exhibition industry, increased by 2.4%.
Historically, total attendance has been highly correlated with overall non-farm payroll employment. In 2010, however, attendance rose even as total non-farm payroll employment fell.
As employment grows over the next three years, attendance should continue to pace the exhibition industry. Month-to-month net job creation is the indicator to watch in 2011.
"A three-year predictive feature has been added to the 2010 CEIR Index Report. The economic analysis team, led by Dr. Allen Shaw of GECA and Dr. Jeff Werling of Inforum, has done an outstanding job of analyzing and reporting the data in both figures and tables that the reader can use to measure their own results against the entire industry and events within their own sector," said CEIR President and CEO, Douglas L. Ducate, CEM, CMP.
A grant given to CEIR by the World Shoe Association in 2006 was meant to be used to enhance the Index, making it a necessary tool for exhibition organizers to use in planning for future years.
"The Index is a substantial and important document for our industry, and the changes/enhancements made this year help make the document more valuable than ever," said Skip Farber, formerly with the World Shoe Association and a former director of CEIR.
As an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibition industry, the CEIR Index measures year-over-year changes in four key metrics to determine overall performance.
The CEIR Index provides exhibition industry performance across 14 key industry sectors: Business Services; Consumer Goods; Discretionary Consumer Services; Education; Food; Financial, Legal and Real Estate; Government; Building, Construction, Home and Repair; Industrial/Heavy Machinery and Finished Business Inputs; Communications and Information Technology; Medical and Health Care; Raw Materials and Science; Sporting Goods, Travel and Entertainment; and Transportation.
Several sectors in consumer goods are forecast to gain ground along with consumer confidence and expenditures, including Consumer Goods and Retail Trade; Discretionary Consumer Services; Food; and Sporting Goods, Travel and Amusement. The Building, Construction, Home and Repair and the Industrial/Heavy Machinery/Finished Business Outputs sectors are forecast to experience cyclical upswings.
Moderate growth of the Medical and Health Care sector is also forecasted. Two sectors – Education and Government Services – are forecast to contract in the short term.
The complete 2010 CEIR Index is available for purchase here
