With growth in attendance, net square footage of exhibition space, exhibitors, and revenue, the exhibition industry showed signs of recovery in 2004, according to the second annual Center For Exhibition Industry Research Index.

The index is based on a value of 100, which was created as the baseline value for measurements in 2000. Thus, the annual index score for each sector reflects performance in relation to 2000.

In 2004, all indicators pushed past CEIR's 2000 index levels except revenues, which improved 2 points from 95 in 2003 to 97. Net square footage showed the most gains, jumping to 109 from 103 in 2003. The score in the exhibitor category rose to 104 from 98; and the score in the attendees grouping climbed to 105 from 97. The total score for the exhibition industry, which represents an aggregate of these four metrics, was 104, up from 97 the year before.

Analyzing the performance of exhibitions within different business segments of the economy, most areas showed growth over 2003, except for information technology and raw materials/science, where the numbers were flat. The top performing sectors were sports, travel and entertainment (125), medical and healthcare (120), industrial (118), transportation (118), building and construction (112), government (107), food (106), business services (104), raw materials and science (96), consumer goods and retail trade (92), and information technology (77).

The exhibition industry hit rock bottom in 2002, according to CEIR numbers, when the score dropped to 95. In 2003 it moved up to 97 before jumping to 104 in 2004. The index was created by compiling data from about 250 events in 11 different industries. For more information, go to www.ceir.org.