UPDATED 3/13/20

Show officials have announced "with a heavy heart and deep regret" that they have canceled this year's Mid-America Trucking Show due to the ongoing threat of COVID-19 coronavirus. They vowed to return for next year's 50th anniversary event March 25-27, 2021, "stronger than ever."

By Al Muskewitz
 
You can’t pick up a newspaper or listen to a newscast these days without the first or second story being something about COVID-19/Coronavirus. The outbreak is impacting almost every aspect of everyday life around the world.
 
The stock market is a rollercoaster, sporting events are either being canceled or played without fans in the stands, schools and businesses are closing temporarily, travel is being restricted or banned altogether. The outbreak is so widespread and virulent events scheduled months in advance are in jeopardy of being canceled.
 
Organizers of this month’s Mid-America Trucking Show in Louisville, Ky., are actively monitoring the situation.

Show manager Toby Young told Wright Media Thursday (March 5) the show will go on. In staying the course, the largest trucking industry show in the country joins the Masters and the Olympics among major international events committed to going on as planned.
 
UPDATE: On Wednesday (March 11), MATS organizers released a statement saying more than 850 exhibitors “remain committed” to participate in the show.  It said registrations are “still coming in at a strong pace” with more than 50,000 attendees pre-registered.
 
“With proper precautions and protections in place, we feel that we can all have a safe and successful show,” MATS said. “With this said, if you are in the elevated risk groups as defined by the CDC, out of an abundance of caution, we encourage you to stay home.”
 
The show is March 26-28 at the Kentucky Exposition Center. HireMaster/Wright Media will be among the exhibitors, located in Booth 65004 in the West Wing.

“The show is going on, we’re not changing that,” said Young, president of Exhibit Management Associates. “The plan is definitely set. We already have freight arriving, we already have areas of the show being marked if we have access. We’re proceeding with full intentions of having the show. The show takes so much production the wheels are already turning, so we’re moving forward as scheduled.”
 
Of course, show managers urge caution and common sense as it relates to travel and attendance. They offer continual updates on the status of the show and the steps they are taking to mitigate the risk under the “About MATS” tab on its website (www.truckingshow.com).
 
MATS has drawn more than 70,000 attendees for more than 15 years. Last year it drew 72,548 and more than 1,000 exhibitors from 45 states and 11 countries. Young is hopeful the show will maintain those numbers this year and pre-registration before the media attention over the virus was tracking ahead of last year. Still, he acknowledged, it’s “realistic to think” the attendance will be down some.
 
He also anticipates a drop in the number of exhibitors from China and Japan that do not have a U.S. partner to exhibit in their place, but that number is negligible in the overall scope of the show.
 
“With China and some other countries being kind the focal point of where all this originated, a lot of those companies have basically bowed out of the show due to travel constraints, the travel ban in some cases, and just timing and everything else, and it’s the right thing to do,” Young said.
 
Organizers encourage the attendees and exhibitors to exercise similar diligence and make responsible decisions regarding their participation at the show. The Kentucky Exposition Center will have first aid providers on-site during setup and show hours to provide medical assistance for those who present flu-like symptoms during the event.
 
“If you’re not feeling well, if you’re sick or having health issues, stay home,” Young said. “The show is important to the industry but it’s not so important that you need to come and get someone else sick or put yourself in further harm’s way.”
 
Coronavirus has been confirmed in 84 countries around the world, on every continent except Antarctica. In the United States, there have been 163 confirmed cases in 18 states and 11 deaths. There have been no cases reported so far in Kentucky, but five in neighboring states Tennessee (one) and Illinois.

The trucking industry has a nationwide reach, providing ample opportunities to interact with a wide range and well-traveled sample of people. Considering all the networking that takes place at the show, it's likely there won't be a lot of handshaking going on after introductions or deals are completed.

"We're definitely aware of what's going on and we're definitely going to have to take precautions," said Jason Troup, Wright Media's senior vice president of sales. "I feel comfortable about going, you've just got to be cautious. There will be a lot of people doing the foot bump."

Next year’s MATS is the milestone 50^th show. Normally, Young would be well underway with those plans, but admitted with so much surrounding this year’s show he hasn’t had a lot of time for that. Still, he predicts a positive response.
 
“It’s going to be a great show,” he said. “Hopefully we have everything that’s going on in the world behind us and everybody comes out – our longtime exhibitors, longtime attendees – to the show and they get our best effort.”
 
Al Muskewitz is Editor for Wright Media. He can be reached at musky@wrightmediacorp.com

Photo credit: MATS