Chicago’s trade show exodus seems to be growing.
Now organizations aren’t even letting Chicago into the bidding process.
Case in point: the International Dairy Foods Association announced this week that it was changing its trade show schedule from once every two years to once a year, according to Crain's. And they’re moving it from McCormick Place in Chicago to some place in Dallas.
The worst part of the whole deal is that Chicago wasn’t even given a chance to bid on the production, citing cost as a major concern.
The Dairy group had run their trade show in conjunction with the American Meat Institute. The two groups teamed up for the Worldwide Food Expo every two years since 1999.
Thankfully for Mayor Daley, the meat group will stick around in Chicago, which has long the meatpacking capitol of the world.
Though Chicago technically didn’t lose the Dairy trade show, they’re move to Dallas makes them the third major trade group to ditch the Midwest for better, cheaper digs.
The Health Care Information and Management Systems Society was first to go, announcing in November it's move to Vegas.
The plastics industry followed suit shortly thereafter, announcing in mid-November they would take their convention to Orlando.
