MATS Attendees, Exhibitors Decline
The Mid-America Trucking Show reported the number of attendees and exhibitors for the 2017 show both dipped, year-over-year.
The trade show said March 29 that 72,271 people came to the show and 1,012 firms exhibited this year. In 2016, there were 74,937 attendees and 1,102 exhibitors — the fourth-highest level. That's a drop of 3.6% in attendance and 8.2% in exhibitors this year.
MATS is owned and operated by Exhibit Management Associates.
2015 was a very strong year for Mid-America with 81,768 attendees, a show record, and 1,064 exhibitors.
The EMA announcement “marks the seventh consecutive year that MATS has featured more than 1,000 exhibitors and the 15th that we have hosted more than 70,000 attendees.”
The show this year, held March 23-25, marked the return of three heavy-duty truck manufacturers (Kenworth, Peterbilt and Mack) to MATS after all of the major North American truck makers skipped the 2016 event.
This was the 46th version of MATS, which started in 1972. It is the largest annual trucking show in North America and is held in Louisville’s Kentucky Exposition Center.
