DALLAS, 24 February 2014 – In line with our economists’ projection, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) announces the performance of the exhibition industry significantly improved during the fourth quarter of 2013 with a year-on-year increase of 3.0 percent compared to just 0.4 percent increase in the third quarter of the same year. This is an exciting and promising result considering there was only a 0.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2012. This marks the fourteenth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth and the highest increase since the first quarter of 2012 which reported 3.2 percent at that time. Additionally, the exhibition industry turned the corner and outperformed the macro economy as real GDP gained 2.7 percent year-on-year during the same period.
“With the fourth quarter’s results and 14 consecutive quarters of growth, and our predictions closely matching outcomes, we are confident in the continued growth and progress of the industry. The exhibition industry has survived and emerged from the Great Recession and we are confident that the upswing will continue,” says CEIR’s economist Allen Shaw, Ph.D., chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc. “Additionally, in line with our expectations as published in the 2012 CEIR Index Report, the Total Index increased by a modest 1.0 percent for 2013 for the year as a whole, just slightly below the 1.1 percent forecasted growth.”
Quarterly CEIR Total Index for the Overall Exhibition Industry, Year-on-Year % Change, 2011Q1 – 2013Q4
Quarterly CEIR Total Index for the Overall Exhibition Industry vs. Quarterly Real GDP, Year-on-Year % Change, 2008Q1 – 2013Q4
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: Net Square Feet of Exhibit Space Sold; Professional Attendance; Number of Exhibiting Companies; and Gross Revenue. The strongest metric in the fourth quarter was Professional Attendance, which jumped 5.8 percent year-on-year, the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2007. Exhibitors and Real Revenues rose 3.0 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. Net Square Feet was the only metric that suffered a year-on-year decline, dropping by 0.5 percent.
Quarterly CEIR Metrics for the Overall Exhibition Industry Year-on-Year % Change, 2009 – 2013Q4
The CEIR Index provides exhibition industry performance across 14 key industry sectors: Business Services; Consumer Goods; Discretionary Consumer Goods and 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.
CEIR President & CEO Brian Casey, CEM, noted, “Performance varied by industry, and the top performing sector was Industrial/Heavy Machinery and Finished Business Inputs (ID) where the index increased by 6.9 percent. In contrast, the weakest sector was Government (GV), where the index declined. This was not surprising since the industry was negatively affected by government budget cuts impacting trade shows.”
CEIR Total Index by Sector, Year-on-Year % Change, 2013
The full 2013 CEIR Index with three-year projection will be released in April. For more information about the CEIR Index, an Analysis of the Exhibition Industry and Future Outlook report or Predict – CEIR’s Annual Exhibition Industry Outlook Conference, contact CEIR President and CEO Brian Casey, CEM at bcasey@ceir.org or +1 (972) 687-9219.
About CEIR
CEIR serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering knowledge-based research tools that enable stakeholder organizations to enhance their ability to meet current and emerging customer needs, improve their business performance and strengthen their competitive position. For additional information, visit www.ceir.org.
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Media Contact:
Susan Brower, CMM, CCP, CEM
sbrower@ceir.org
+1 (972) 687-9207
