Association News

Final 2009 CEIR Index results

DALLAS — The Center for Exhibition Industry Research on March 22 announced that the Great Recession has taken an historic toll on the U.S. exhibition industry. The CEIR Index report for 2009 reveals an overall industry decline of 12.5 percent. This decline is four times greater than the largest previous loss which was 3.1 percent in 2008. All eleven industry sectors experienced declines in 2009.

The CEIR Index report for 2008 predicted that the exhibitions and events industry would not see growth until the second quarter of 2010 and possibly later. Historically, the industry has shown a resistance to decline and resiliency in recovery. "The length, depth and reach of this recession made resistance impossible," said Douglas L. Ducate, president and CEO of CEIR. "The concern today is not for what happened in 2008 and 2009 but what the outlook is for the industry over the next several years and for what organizers can do to strengthen their events."

Anecdotal information from events held the first two months of 2010 is encouraging. Since the exhibitions and events industry for the most part is a trailing indicator, it will take time and a genuine economic recovery before the industry experiences sustained growth. Once a genuine economic recovery occurs, if the industry follows past patterns, the recovery will be swift. Notably, the industry's previous decline ended with the second quarter of 2003. By the end of 2004, the exhibitions and events industry performance had returned to pre-2000 levels.

Data collected specifically from the fourth quarter of 2009 reveals that the industry experienced an overall decline of 8.9 percent when compared to the same quarter of 2008. Together, these figures mark the seventh consecutive quarter and second consecutive year of negative numbers due to The Great Recession.

The Index data for the fourth quarter of 2009 conveys declines in all four metrics of measurement. The fourth quarter 2009 metrics are Net Square Feet (-12.3 percent); Revenue (-13.2 percent); Professional Attendance (-4.1 percent); and Number of Exhibiting Companies (-5.8 percent). The fourth quarter was an improvement over the first three.

As an objective measure of the annual performance of the exhibitions and events industry, The CEIR Index measures year-over-year changes in four key metrics to determine overall performance. The CEIR Index provides analysis of industry performance across 11 key industry sectors: Professional Business Services; Consumer and Retail Trade; Sports and Entertainment; Food; Government; Building and Construction; Industrial and Manufacturing; Communications and Information Technology; Medical and Health Care; Raw Materials and Science; and Transportation. The complete CEIR Index for 2009 will be released at the Society of Independent Show Organizers (SISO) CEO Conference in early April.

For more information on The CEIR Index, contact Douglas L. Ducate, CEM, CMP, president and CEO of CEIR at dducate@ceir.org or +1 (469) 574-0686.

CEIR serves to advance the growth, awareness and value of exhibitions and other face-to-face marketing events by producing and delivering research-based knowledge 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.