Shipping to SEMA 2026? Your Crating, Delivery and Return-Shipping Checklist

Start with the date your freight needs to be ready for pickup. Work backward to allow time for measurements, crate construction, packing and carrier transit.

For advance-warehouse shipments, Freeman’s published 2026 information identifies October 22 as the deadline before an additional after-deadline charge applies. For direct delivery, confirm your assigned target day and the required marshaling-yard check-in. Recheck the current Freeman SEMA Quick Facts before dispatch.

Give the crating provider the required ready date and receiving route. “Before SEMA” leaves too much room for misunderstanding.

List every item traveling to the show, including the smaller pieces needed to make a display work.

For each item, record:

• Length, width and height, including protruding parts
• Weight and any manufacturer handling instructions
• Fragile surfaces, moving components and areas that cannot support a load
• Accessories, tools, cables and mounting hardware
• Whether it returns home or continues to another event

Photograph the items before packing. Mark estimates clearly, and identify who will verify final dimensions and weights. These details help avoid last-minute changes to the crate or freight booking.

A shipping crate should fit the item and the way your team will use it. Discuss internal supports, cushioning, removable panels and the order in which components need to come out.

For a reusable exhibit crate, ask how the closures and packing materials will hold up to repeated use. Consider whether one large crate or several smaller units will be easier to handle, while asking your carrier and show contractor how that choice affects charges.

Prepare a simple packing map with labeled components and photos of the loaded interior. Someone who did not pack the outbound shipment may be responsible for the return.

Our trade-show crating services in Las Vegas are a starting point for discussing your exhibit’s packaging requirements.

These are distinct parts of the job:

• Crating and packing: the enclosure, protective materials and packing work
• Transportation: moving the shipment between its origin, receiving point and return destination
• Material handling: moving freight within the show’s receiving and booth-handling system

SEMA identifies Freeman as the exclusive material-handling provider. Its described services include unloading, booth delivery, empty-container storage and return, and transfer back to the carrier. Consult SEMA’s material-handling explanation and the current order form for scope and charges.

Ask each provider to identify its responsibility in writing. A crate quote should make clear whether any pickup, delivery or freight coordination is included.

Use the current labels for your chosen receiving route. Check the exhibitor name, booth number, destination and piece count against your booking.

Confirm the finished crate’s outside dimensions and total packed weight. Item measurements alone are insufficient for booking the completed shipment.

Keep the packing list, carrier reference, delivery paperwork and booth contact together. Send the driver the current receiving instructions rather than relying on a general convention-center address.

Choose a return destination, identify the person responsible for repacking and confirm who books the outbound carrier.

Review Freeman’s current outbound paperwork and move-out requirements through the Exhibitor Service Manual. Leave time for empty-crate return and repacking before your carrier’s pickup arrangements. Show closing does not mean the freight is immediately ready to load.

Keep reusable cushioning, labeled hardware and packing instructions organized. Before closing each crate, compare its contents with the inventory and photograph the finished packing.