THE SEMA SHUFFLE: The final day’s traffic jam is a show of its own
December 20, 2018
Posted by Barrett-Jackson
Written by Steve Magnante
Movin’ out: The exodus of vehicles after the final day of the annual SEMA Show is a site to behold.
Like everything, the annual Specialty Equipment Marketers Association (SEMA) Show has a very specifically defined beginning, middle and end. The pre-show buildup (beginning) involves getting credentials online or through the mail, booking travel and lodging, then packing the most comfortable shoes you own.
The middle part of SEMA week involves a non-stop frenzy of activity as approximately 162,000 industry insiders, business owners and wholesalers inspect the 2,400 domestic and international exhibits – ranging from small mom-and-pop machine shops selling tungsten tire studs to major automakers previewing new models. During SEMA week, the 43-billion-dollar automotive aftermarket industry gets a fresh reboot for the coming year. Meetings are taken, presentations made and six-figure purchase orders are signed. Add in the spectacle of a thousand-plus special SEMA show vehicles ‒ many of which end up crossing the Barrett-Jackson auction block, such as the Art Morrison “3G” Corvette (Lot #1330) on the 2019 Scottsdale docket ‒ and each day’s 9 to 5 visit never lacks a dull moment.
Then comes Friday, the end of the weeklong show. With the major deal-making and unveiling already completed, SEMA Friday is an abbreviated day, with the doors closing an hour early, at 4 p.m. Anybody who’s ever attended SEMA will remember how the entire show lets out a collective sigh of contented relief when the loudspeaker voice announces, “The SEMA show is now closed.” In the following minutes and hours, literally thousands of tons of products, promotional materials and display sets are carefully dismantled and packed for shipment back to where they came from – often aboard fleets of big rigs.
But the one of the most fascinating aspects of the show is just beginning. A traffic jam the likes of nothing ever seen in New York or L.A. is the real showstopper. When that horn sounds, big blocks and small blocks from every corner of the industry start up almost in unison to make their way into the aisles for the long and very slow journey to their trailer or transport truck. As only members of the industry can attend the SEMA Show, this exodus from the Convention Center allows members of the general public a rare glimpse at these spectacular show cars, where low-riders rub elbows with Resto-Mods and sleek and sporty new-models glide behind tricked-out trucks and race cars.
SEMA might be one of Las Vegas’ biggest annual conventions – bringing its fair share of congestion to the city’s native residents – but the “jam” at the end is another show in and of itself.