Foreign builders boost Conexpo attendance

Thanks to its unusual triennial scheduling, the massive Conexpo-Con/Agg convention managed to escape the worst of the recession.

The construction show was last staged in 2008, just as the industry was tipping into what turned out to be a nasty downturn. Now, although building continues to limp badly in Las Vegas, it has shown signs of recovery in other sections of the U.S. and in many foreign countries.

As a result, this year's Conexpo attendance, estimated by Association of Equipment Manufacturers President Dennis Slater at 125,000, is about equal to the 2005 edition and down about 13 percent from three years ago. The Milwaukee-based association puts on Conexpo.

By contrast, attendance at the annual World of Concrete show, also held here, has dropped 42 percent since 2008.

"Our industry has been down a lot," Slater said. "But I think this reflects that the economy is getting better for the industry, that it is growing again. We are seeing some energy out there on the floor."

In particular, he noted, the number of foreign registrants ran about 25 percent this year, compared with 20 percent in the past. This showed a trend of overseas builders increasingly buying American equipment, such as lifts and earth movers.

Nevertheless, several indicators lead him to conclude that the domestic industry has recovered less than half of the sales ground it lost during the recession, a main reason his association is lobbying for expanded federal highway funding.

Conexpo sold out its exhibit floor several months ago to more than 2,400 companies taking 2.3 million square feet, roughly the same as 2008.

However, spokesman Richard Jefferson said, the association has no plans to put on the Conexpo more frequently despite some suggestions by officials at the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. Some of the heavy-equipment makers have told him they spend several million dollars bringing in their machinery for display and then shipping it home, leading the association to think that fewer might do it more frequently.

The association booked a block of 23,000 rooms at about a 20 percent to 30 percent premium compared with normal rates. This add-on was about the same as in the recent past.

The show traces its roots to 1909, but came to Las Vegas for good in 1987.

Contact reporter Tim O'Reiley at toreiley@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290.