IMTS Turnout

The final count of registrants for IMTS 2024 reached 89,020, according to AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. That number includes 14,713 students who attended the Smartforce Student Summit, which was held concurrently with IMTS Sept. 9 through 14 at Chicago’s McCormick Place.

Comparatively, the final count for IMTS 2022 attendance was 86,307, which included 11,715 students at the 2022 Smartforce Student Summit.

So, looking at these data points, there is some good news and some news that, let’s just say, might trigger a shrug.

The good news here is the growth in student attendance — and not just because this year’s gathering attracted about 3,000 more students than in 2022, but because that growth in itself is a positive sign that perhaps word is getting around that manufacturing offers a lucrative and rewarding career option. You read that how you wish; my reading is clearly steeped in hope.

As for the shrug, IMTS 2024 attendance without students was 74,307. IMTS 2022 attendance without students was 74,592 — slightly more than this year’s turnout. You see what I mean about a shrug? The small drop in attendance among industry professionals this year isn’t enough to call it bad. In fact, in my view, I think the turnout was solid, particularly given how the manufacturing economy has been slowing down with each passing month this year. The industry is still growing, just not as quickly as it was back in January.

While at the trade show this year I heard a familiar refrain from a few of the 1,737 exhibitors — it’s about the quality of leads, not necessarily the quantity. The more quality leads, the more likely an exhibitor will make a sale of a machine, cutting tool or some related product or service.

The same refrain was often heard at IMTS 2022, which attracted 1,816 exhibiting companies. There’s a simple explanation for this: there are still plenty of decision makers attending IMTS. According to AMT, a quarter of all attendees at IMTS 2024 were in management. What’s more, AMT reported that 22% of IMTS 2024 attendees indicated that they make the final buying decisions at their companies.

All this leads me to believe there’s still good reason to attend IMTS, not to mention exhibit at IMTS. As an attendee, there’s really no substitute for walking around and experiencing first-hand the technology being offered by a wide variety of companies. As exhibitors, it’s all about connecting with the audience — the trade show attendees who make the buying decisions.

A little audience perspective

Not for nothing, but Cutting Tool Engineering’s audience totals more than 112,000 unique subscribers between our magazine and E-Newsletter. And 57% of our subscribers are in management.