McCormick Place Survival Guide: Union Labor & Drayage (Chicago)
North America's largest convention center is also its priciest to exhibit at. Here's how McCormick Place union labor and drayage really work - and how to plan around them.
McCormick Place in Chicago is the largest convention center in North America (IMTS, NRA Show, RSNA, PACK EXPO) - and it's famous for one other thing: it's the most expensive floor in the country to exhibit on. The booth isn't what blows the budget; the union labor and drayage do. Here's the honest breakdown so nothing blindsides you.
- McCormick Place is the most expensive U.S. floor: 3 unions + the highest drayage in the country.
- I&D often $75-$140+/hr; each trade is a separate order with its own deadline.
- The Exhibitor Bill of Rights lets your own full-time staff build a booth of ANY size with their own ladders and power tools — the opposite of Las Vegas, and the biggest controllable saving here.
- Cut cost by designing for fewer labor hours, ordering on time, staying in straight-time, and budgeting drayage both ways.
- We ship your booth to Chicago and coordinate the union install with the labor planned in.
Three unions, three jurisdictions
McCormick runs work through three separate trades, and each owns its tasks:
- Teamsters - freight and material handling (drayage): moving your crates dock-to-booth and back.
- IBEW (electrical) - anything beyond plugging into a standard outlet: power drops, under-carpet wiring, hanging lighting.
- Carpenters / IATSE (rigging & I&D) - booth assembly that needs tools, plus all overhead rigging and hanging signs.
Install & dismantle (I&D) labor commonly runs $75-$140+/hr, with overtime and double-time premiums on evenings, weekends and holidays. Each trade is a separate order with its own deadline.
The exception is bigger than most exhibitors realise. McCormick's Exhibitor Bill of Rights lets your own full-time employees build a booth of any size, using their own ladders, hand tools, cordless and power tools — there is no square-footage ceiling. That is the exact inverse of Las Vegas, where no power tools and no ladders are permitted in your own booth, and for a team already travelling to the show it is the single biggest saving available here. Overhead rigging, hanging signs and anything electrical past a standard outlet stay union. Confirm against your own show's exhibitor manual: the venue sets the jurisdictions, but show management sets what an exhibitor may do and it varies show to show in the same hall.
The highest drayage in the country
Drayage (material handling) at McCormick is consistently the highest of any U.S. convention center - often $100-$200/cwt, billed both in and out. For comparison, Las Vegas drayage runs roughly half, and Orlando about 40% less (see our labor cost by city). It's the single most under-budgeted line item at McCormick.
Which trades you actually need depends on your stand — we measured 5,802 of them
Rigging is the trade exhibitors most often order without needing to, and hanging signs are the reason. We pulled every stand from three McCormick shows' own published floor plans and derived each booth's class from its coordinates — one open side is an inline with no hanging sign, four open sides is an island with full height.
| Show | Stands | Median stand | Cannot hang a sign | Islands, share of floor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PACK EXPO 2026 | 2,572 | 225 sq ft | 57% | 22% |
| IMTS 2026 | 1,638 | 200 sq ft | 73% | 35% |
| AHR Expo 2027 | 1,592 | 200 sq ft | 56% | 68% |
Between 56% and 73% of exhibitors at these shows are not permitted a hanging sign at all. If you are one of them you have no overhead rigging to order, and the Carpenters/IATSE line in your budget is smaller than the generic advice assumes — your height has to come off the floor instead.
And it is your industry, not the hall, that decides. AHR Expo ran the Las Vegas Convention Center in 2026 and moves to McCormick for 2027; measured the same way, the two floors are near identical (69% of floor in islands versus 68%). Yet inside this same building PACK EXPO puts 22% of its floor in islands and IMTS 35%. Budget Chicago off your last show in your own sector, not off the last show you did in Chicago.
How to keep the bill sane
- Design for fewer labor hours. A modular, tool-light, fast-to-build booth directly cuts union I&D time - the biggest controllable cost.
- Order every trade before the deadline. On-site floor rates are far higher than advance rates.
- Schedule inside straight time. Avoid OT/DT windows for install and teardown.
- Palletize and ship to the advance warehouse when it pencils out, and budget drayage both ways.
We build for McCormick by minimizing labor hours and handling the freight and order logistics, so you arrive to a booth that goes up fast. We serve Chicago by shipping your booth in and coordinating the union install. Get a free quote with the labor budget built in.
Frequently asked
Why is McCormick Place so expensive to exhibit at?
Three union jurisdictions (Teamsters freight, IBEW electrical, Carpenters/IATSE rigging & I&D) with I&D often $75-$140+/hr, plus the highest drayage rates in the U.S. The labor and freight - not the booth - drive the cost.
Can I set up my own booth at McCormick Place?
Yes, and more freely than at any other major hall. McCormick Place's <strong>Exhibitor Bill of Rights</strong> lets your own full-time employees set up a booth of <strong>any size</strong>, using their own ladders, hand tools, cordless and power tools — there is no square-footage ceiling. What stays union: IBEW owns anything past a standard outlet, and Carpenters/IATSE own overhead rigging and hanging signs. Teamsters still move your freight. Confirm against your own show's exhibitor manual, because show management sets what exhibitors may do and it varies show to show in the same hall.
How much is drayage at McCormick Place?
It's the highest of any U.S. convention center - often $100-$200 per hundredweight, billed both in and out. Palletizing and advance-warehouse shipping help; always budget it both ways.
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