Is IMTS in 2027? The big shows taking an off year, and what to do instead

There is no IMTS in 2027. The International Manufacturing Technology Show returns to Chicago in September 2028, two years after its September 2026 edition, and the space application page on imts.com gives the dates as Sept. 11 to 16, 2028. The 2026 show drew 91,295 registrants and 1,788 exhibiting companies, per IMTS’s 2026 post-show report.

IMTS is not alone. Seven large shows our readers plan around take 2027 off, so for many machining, plastics, packaging and material handling companies the biggest line in the event budget is empty for a year. Unspent, the money is easy to lose to other departments. It is also the cheapest year to get ahead of competitors who treat the gap as a holiday.

Which big manufacturing shows are not held in 2027?

IMTS, MODEX, Plastics Technology Expo (PTXPO), PACK EXPO International, CONEXPO-CON/AGG, the American Coatings Show and LOUPE Americas all skip 2027. Six of them run in even years and return in 2028. CONEXPO-CON/AGG runs every three years and skips 2028 as well, returning March 13 to 17, 2029. Our 2027 manufacturing trade show calendar lists each one’s next-edition dates and city, checked on the organizer sites, alongside the 123 shows that do run in 2027.

IMTS 2027 is off, but IMTS 2028 space is already being sold

If you exhibit at IMTS, the 2028 decision belongs in 2026. The IMTS space application page set Oct. 30, 2026 as the priority space deadline, with a 10% deposit. Applications that arrive after that date are still accepted; they are handled after the priority applicants.

The same page’s IMTS 2028 price table lists raw floor space at $29 per square foot for AMT members and $37 for non-members, and two packages, Package A (10 by 10 feet) at $12,000 for members and $13,000 for non-members, and Package B (10 by 20 feet) at $16,000 and $18,000. Those prices are labeled for orders placed in 2026, and the page shows no 2027 rates.

So if IMTS 2028 is in your plan, apply by Oct. 30, 2026 if you still can. If that date has passed when you read this, applying before Dec. 31, 2026 still gets you the rates labeled for 2026 orders and a place in the queue ahead of anyone who waits. Check the page again before you sign; we read it on Oct. 26, 2026.

What to do instead in 2027, by industry

Every off-year flagship has a smaller, closer substitute in 2027, and several have a counterpart show that runs in odd years. The table has the dates; the notes below say who each substitute suits. For every other option in your field, see the 2027 shows by industry.

Off in 2027 (back in)	2027 alternative	Dates (2027)	City
IMTS (2028)	EASTEC; SOUTHTEC; MT Southwest; WESTEC	May 11 to 13; Oct. 19 to 21; Nov. 2 to 4; Nov. 16 to 18	West Springfield, Mass.; Greenville, S.C.; Dallas; Long Beach, Calif.
IMTS (2028)	FABTECH	Sept. 13 to 16	Chicago
IMTS, for contract shops (2028)	Design-2-Part spring series, seven shows	March 17 to June 24	Atlanta to Novi, Mich.
PTXPO (2028)	NPE2027	May 3 to 7	Orlando
MODEX (2028)	ProMat	April 19 to 21	Chicago
PACK EXPO International (2028)	PACK EXPO Southeast; PACK EXPO Las Vegas	April 12 to 14; Sept. 27 to 29	Atlanta; Las Vegas
CONEXPO-CON/AGG (2029)	World of Concrete; The Utility Expo	Jan. 19 to 21; Oct. 5 to 7	Las Vegas; Louisville
American Coatings Show (2028)	AMPP Annual Conference + Expo	April 11 to 15	Columbus, Ohio
LOUPE Americas (2028)	PRINTING United	Sept. 14 to 16	Las Vegas

Nine pairings of an off-year show with a 2027 alternative, with the year each off-year show returns in parentheses. Full next-edition dates are in our 2027 calendar. Source: Organizer sites, read Oct. 26, 2026.

Metalworking and machine shops (IMTS off)

SME’s MT Series runs four regional shows in 2027, and SME reports 25,000-plus attendees and 1,400 exhibiting companies across the series in 2025. Pick the stop nearest your customers. FABTECH in Chicago is the national option for fabrication.

For contract machine shops selling to OEM engineers and buyers, the Design-2-Part spring series runs seven regional shows. Exhibiting is limited to North American contract manufacturers, so the floor is your competitors and the aisles are buyers.

Plastics (PTXPO off)

In plastics the odd year brings the big show, NPE2027, which is held every three years and lists more than 2,200 exhibitors. Our NPE2027 plan covers registration deadlines, whether a molder should exhibit, and a meeting countdown.

Material handling (MODEX off)

ProMat takes the odd-year slot, with more than 1,200 exhibits listed. Automation suppliers can pair it with Automate three weeks later, and our ProMat and Automate plan runs the two as one campaign.

Packaging (PACK EXPO International off)

PACK EXPO Las Vegas is the odd-year national show, and the regional PACK EXPO Southeast in Atlanta is the closer option for Southeast plants, both per packexpo.com.

Construction equipment (CONEXPO off until 2029)

The gap runs two years, long enough to need a plan. World of Concrete in January and The Utility Expo in October are the big 2027 options, and our World of Concrete and AHR Expo plan covers the January show.

Coatings and labels

With the American Coatings Show and LOUPE Americas both off, coatings suppliers can look at the AMPP Annual Conference + Expo in Columbus, Ohio, and label converters at PRINTING United in Las Vegas.

How to spend the off-year trade show budget

We would keep the money and split it three ways, rather than handing it back or pouring all of it into a smaller booth somewhere else.

The biggest share should go to regional shows your customers can drive to. A 10-by-10 at EASTEC or a Design-2-Part stop near your best accounts reaches buyers who would never fly to Chicago. Pick shows by where your top 20 customers and top 50 prospects are, and book two at most; our booth cost breakdown has the 2027 space rates for the MT Series and a dozen other shows.

Customer and prospect visits deserve the travel money. The budget for a national show week, spent on a planned run of plant visits, puts your engineers in front of the people who write the RFQs. Schedule them in the quarters when you would otherwise be prepping a booth.

Whatever is left should build the content you will use at the 2028 show. The year before a flagship show is when to make what you will hand out there, such as application stories with real numbers, short machine or process videos and a capabilities page that holds up when a booth visitor checks it on a phone. Booth conversations in 2028 go better when the follow-up already exists.

Keep a small reserve for 2028 deposits. IMTS set its 2028 priority deadline nearly two years ahead of the show, so expect MODEX, PTXPO and PACK EXPO International to ask for 2028 commitments during 2027. Read each organizer’s space page in the first quarter and put the dates in the calendar.

What to do Monday

1. Pull last cycle’s actual spend for every off-year show, booth, travel and freight included, so you know the size of the gap.
2. If you plan to exhibit at IMTS 2028, re-read the space application page and apply by Oct. 30, 2026 if you can, or before Dec. 31, 2026.
3. Map your top 20 customers and top 50 targets against the 2027 regional shows above and choose no more than two.
4. Book the first round of customer visits for February and March 2027, before spring show season.
5. List three pieces of content you wish you had at the last big show, and assign them owners and dates in 2027.