Logistics Conferences 2026: The Events Worth Attending (and How to Work Them)

The main US logistics conferences in 2026 are Manifest (Las Vegas, February), TPM (Long Beach, March), MATS (Louisville, March), MODEX (Atlanta, April), TIA Capital Ideas (Phoenix, April), Home Delivery World (Nashville, May), IANA Intermodal EXPO (Long Beach, September), Breakbulk Americas (Houston, September), CSCMP EDGE (Nashville, October) and FreightWaves F3 (Chattanooga, October). Which ones deserve a ticket or a booth depends on who the buyer is: forwarders, brokers, 3PLs, carriers or shippers each gather at different events.

The dates below were checked against organizer and exhibitor pages in October 2026. Because many of these events have already taken place this year, the list doubles as a planning calendar: most return in the same month each year, so use it to budget the next cycle. Confirm exact dates on the organizer site before booking travel.

Which logistics conferences matter in 2026, and who attends?

The ten events below cover the main buyer groups in US logistics. Dates and cities are for 2026.

Event	2026 dates	City	Best for
Manifest	Feb 9-11	Las Vegas (The Venetian)	Shippers, 3PLs, brokers, logistics technology
TPM Conference (JOC)	Mar 1-4	Long Beach, CA	Forwarders, NVOCCs, ocean carriers, transpacific shippers
Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS)	Mar 26-28	Louisville, KY	Trucking carriers, owner-operators, equipment and services vendors
MODEX	Apr 13-16	Atlanta (Georgia World Congress Center)	Warehousing, fulfillment, material handling, supply chain operations
TIA Capital Ideas Conference	Apr 15-18	Phoenix, AZ	Freight brokers and 3PLs
Home Delivery World	May 20-21	Nashville (Music City Convention Center)	E-commerce logistics, last mile, fulfillment
IANA Intermodal EXPO	Sep 14-16	Long Beach, CA	Intermodal marketing companies, drayage, railroads, ocean carriers
Breakbulk Americas	Sep 22-23	Houston (George R. Brown Convention Center)	Project cargo, heavy-lift, breakbulk forwarders
CSCMP EDGE	Oct 4-7	Nashville (Gaylord Opryland)	Supply chain managers, shippers, 3PLs, educators
FreightWaves F3: Future of Freight Festival	Oct 27-28 (Awards Dinner Oct 26)	Chattanooga, TN	Brokers, carriers, freight technology

ProMat, the other large material handling and warehouse show, runs in odd years in Chicago, alternating with MODEX, so it is not on the 2026 calendar. Check the organizer site for its next dates.

Which conferences fit freight forwarders and customs brokers?

Forwarders get the most from TPM, Breakbulk Americas and the IANA Intermodal EXPO, because the attendee lists hold ocean carriers, NVOCCs, beneficial cargo owners and port stakeholders.

TPM, run by JOC, is the main transpacific container trade event, held March 1-4, 2026 in Long Beach. The meeting schedule is dominated by carrier and shipper contract talks, so forwarders attend to meet shippers’ procurement teams and carrier account managers in one place. Breakbulk Americas (Houston, September 22-23, 2026) suits forwarders with project cargo, oversized and heavy-lift business. Manifest draws shippers evaluating logistics providers, which makes it useful for forwarders that want direct shipper relationships.

Customs brokers get more value from local and regional events, such as port authority and customs broker association meetings, than from the large national shows. Their buyers (importers) are rarely at logistics conferences, so the smaller industry-specific rooms usually convert better.

Which conferences fit freight brokers and 3PLs?

TIA Capital Ideas is the core event for freight brokers and 3PLs, and Manifest and F3 add technology and shipper contact.

TIA’s Capital Ideas Conference took place April 15-18, 2026 at the JW Marriott Phoenix Desert Ridge. TIA is the Transportation Intermediaries Association, the trade group for brokers and 3PLs, so the room is mostly peers, acquirers, technology vendors and insurance, factoring and compliance providers. Brokers go to learn, hire and benchmark rather than to find shippers.

FreightWaves F3 (Chattanooga, October 27-28, 2026) mixes carriers, brokers and freight technology companies. Manifest (Las Vegas, February 9-11, 2026) has the larger shipper presence, with the organizers citing thousands of attendees, so it is a better place for broker business development.

Warehouse-focused 3PLs should add MODEX (Atlanta, April 13-16, 2026), where facility managers, automation vendors and fulfillment buyers meet, and Home Delivery World (Nashville, May 20-21, 2026) for e-commerce and last-mile logistics.

Which conferences fit trucking companies?

Trucking companies get the most from the Mid-America Trucking Show, held March 26-28, 2026 at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville.

MATS is North America’s largest trucking show, with equipment, technology, insurance, fuel card and recruiting vendors alongside carriers. It is a purchasing and networking event more than a place to find shippers. For shipper freight, carriers do better at regional shipper events, state trucking association meetings and, for brokers’ preferred-carrier programs, TIA and broker-run carrier events.

Carriers working intermodal and drayage should consider the IANA Intermodal EXPO (Long Beach, September 14-16, 2026), where intermodal marketing companies, railroads and ocean carriers sit in the same hall.

How do you pick which logistics events to attend?

Pick events by where the buyer in the ideal customer profile (ICP) actually shows up, not by size. A conference with 10,000 attendees where five of them match the ICP is worse than a regional event where 60 do.

A four-question filter:

1. Is the buyer there? Review the exhibitor list and the previous year’s attendee mix by job title and company type. Shippers’ logistics and transportation managers, not other logistics vendors, are the target for most sales teams.
2. Can we meet them in conversation? Events with scheduled meetings, roundtables and small-group sessions beat events with a single large expo hall.
3. What is the full cost? Ticket or booth, travel, hotel, staff time and follow-up work. Set it against the average margin of the accounts you want to win, as covered in our guide to the logistics marketing budget.
4. Can we get into the speaker or sponsor lineup cheaply? A speaking slot, panel or small sponsorship often delivers more attention than a booth.

Define the ICP before choosing events. The process is in our ICP definition framework.

How do you prepare outreach before a conference?

Contact target accounts two to four weeks before the event with a specific meeting request, because most attendees’ calendars fill early. Pre-show outreach is where most of the value of a conference comes from.

• Build a target list of 30 to 60 companies and named contacts from the registration list, exhibitor directory or event app, matched to the ICP.
• Send a short, specific email or LinkedIn message: the lane, mode or problem you handle, a proposed 15-minute slot and a location (booth number, session room or coffee area).
• Use the event app to message attendees and book meetings, where the organizer allows it.
• Prepare a one-page note per target with their lanes, current provider if known and one question to ask.
• Brief your team on who owns which account, so two reps do not approach the same shipper.

A meeting booked before the event is worth many more than a badge scan in the hall.

Should you buy a booth or walk the floor?

Walking the floor is cheaper and better for research and pre-booked meetings, while a booth makes sense when the buyer is likely to approach vendors and the sales team can handle the volume of conversations.

Approach	Best when	Typical cost drivers	Risk
Attend only	You are testing an event, targeting a short list or networking with peers	Ticket, travel, hotel	No visibility to attendees who do not know you
Speaker or panelist	You can show real expertise on a lane, mode or problem	Time to prepare, travel	Talks that sell too hard lose the room
Small sponsorship	You want your name in the app, session or reception	Sponsorship fee	Low conversion without outreach
Booth	Buyers browse vendors and you have staff to qualify them	Booth space, build, shipping, staff, collateral	Expensive for low-ICP crowds

Attend an event once before buying a booth there. One year of attending shows who the real buyers are and which conversations happen on the floor versus in meetings.

What should happen in the 48 hours after a conference?

Follow up within 48 hours, while the conversation is still fresh, with a message that references what was discussed and proposes one next step. Delays beyond a week cut reply rates because the contact has returned to a full inbox.

1. Tag every contact in the CRM with the event name, date and conversation notes.
2. Sort by intent: meeting held and quote requested, meeting held and interested, brief conversation, badge scan only.
3. Send personal follow-ups to the first two groups within 24 to 48 hours with a lane-specific proposal or quote offer.
4. Place the rest in a nurture sequence with useful content, not a generic newsletter blast. Our guide to logistics lead nurturing covers cadence and content.
5. Connect on LinkedIn with a note that mentions the event.

How do you measure conference ROI?

Measure conference ROI by pipeline and margin generated from event contacts, not by badge scans or booth traffic. Because logistics sales cycles run for months, track the same cohort for six to nine months.

• Cost per qualified meeting: total event cost divided by meetings that match the ICP.
• Opportunities created and quotes sent from event contacts.
• Accounts won and margin from those accounts, as a ratio to the total spend.
• Time from event to first load for won accounts.
• Secondary value: hires, partner introductions and carrier relationships, logged separately.

Report these alongside other channel results using the metrics in our logistics marketing KPIs guide. If an event produced no ICP meetings after two attempts, drop it and move the budget to events or channels that work. The broader decision of where events fit among other channels is covered in our logistics marketing strategy guide.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest logistics conference in the US?

Manifest in Las Vegas and MODEX in Atlanta are among the largest, with Manifest focused on supply chain and logistics technology and MODEX on warehousing and material handling. MATS in Louisville is the largest trucking-specific show. Size varies by year, so check organizer attendance figures.

Which conference is best for freight brokers?

TIA Capital Ideas is built for brokers and 3PLs, with sessions on operations, compliance and growth, and a room of peers and vendors. Manifest and FreightWaves F3 add shipper contact and technology, so many brokers attend more than one.

Are logistics trade shows worth the cost?

They are worth it when the target buyers attend and the team books meetings in advance. They are rarely worth it as a place to hand out cards and hope. Compare cost per qualified meeting and margin from won accounts after six to nine months.

How far in advance should I book a logistics conference?

Book tickets and hotels two to four months before the event, since rooms near convention centers fill early, and book a booth or sponsorship as soon as the organizer opens sales. Start pre-show outreach about a month ahead.

Which conferences are best for warehousing and fulfillment companies?

MODEX in Atlanta (April 13-16, 2026) is the main show for warehousing, automation and fulfillment buyers, and Home Delivery World in Nashville (May 20-21, 2026) covers e-commerce fulfillment and last mile. ProMat, held in odd years in Chicago, fills the same role in the years MODEX does not run.

To plan events alongside search, outbound and content as one program, see our B2B digital marketing services.

Sources for 2026 dates

• Manifest: https://www.aimglobal.org/event/manifest-2026/
• TPM: https://www.msc.com/en/newsroom/news/2026/february/navigating-the-future-of-trade-msc-at-tpm-2026
• MATS: https://truckingshow.com/news/mats-2026-where-the-entire-industry-connects/
• MODEX: https://www.modexshow.com/attendees/faq
• TIA Capital Ideas: https://news.tianet.org/2026-capital-ideas-conference/
• Home Delivery World: https://www.aitworldwide.com/events/home-delivery-world-usa-2026/
• IANA Intermodal EXPO: https://new.intermodal.org/intermodalexpo/attend
• Breakbulk Americas: https://americas.breakbulk.com/page/why-attend-breakbulk-americas
• CSCMP EDGE: https://www.cscmpedge.org/
• FreightWaves F3: https://live.freightwaves.com/f3-future-of-freight-festival-2026