CHICAGO, 11 September 2014 – Today, at the CEIR Predict Conference, the Center for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) released second quarter data collected for the annual CEIR Index report, and the results marked a modest year-on-year gain of 1.0 percent. All four metrics posted year-on-year gains with the strongest performance in Real Revenues, which rose 1.4 percent.
The growth of the exhibition industry lagged behind GDP during the second quarter of 2014, a reversal of the previous two quarters.
Quarterly CEIR Total Index for the Overall Exhibition Industry Vs. Quarterly Real GDP, Year-on-Year % Change, 2008Q1-2014Q2
“Overall, the second-quarter results show a meager gain of 1.0 percent; the underlying reasons for performance can be attributed to weak exhibition performance in the construction, business, education and non-profit exhibitions sectors” says CEIR’s economist Allen Shaw, Ph.D., chief economist for Global Economic Consulting Associates, Inc.
The sectors leading in performance to-date in 2014 are Food, increasing 6.2 percent; Discretional Goods and Services (CS), increasing 5.4 percent; and Communications and Information Technology (IT), increasing 4.3 percent. Conversely, the Education and Non-profit (ED) sector declined by 3.5 percent, which is attributed to retrenchment of state and local government expenditures. The Raw Materials and Science (RM) sector declined by 0.6 percent, even though fundamentals remained sound during the same period.
CEIR Overall Index by Sector, Year-on-Year % Change, 2014H1
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 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.
For more information about the CEIR Index, an Analysis of the 2013 Exhibition Industry and Future Outlook report or Predict – CEIR’s Annual Exhibition Industry Outlook Conference, contact CEIR Managing Director Cathy Breden, CAE, CMP at cbreden@ceir.org or +1 (972) 687-9201.
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 Inquiries:
Mary Tucker
+1(972) 687-9226
mtucker@ceir.org
