Exhibitors at last month's ProMat Show & Conference were brimming with optimism after more than 35,000 logistics professionals converged on Chicago's cavernous McCormick Place for the four-day event.

Presented by the Material Handling Industry of America (MHIA), the bi-annual event included more than 750 exhibitors, mostly suppliers of material handling-focused products and services. Many reported that the attendees walking the aisles had come with the intent to buy.

The material handling industry's optimism for 2007 was further evident during MHIA's annual State of the Industry meeting, at which it was revealed that the material handling sector of the logistics industry took in about $125 billion in revenue in 2006, a 13.1-percent increase over the previous year. That represented the continuation of a growth trend that can be traced back to 2003.

The MHIA says it expects spending on material handling products and services to continue to grow at least through 2008. The group estimates that spending will increase by 8.0 percent in 2007.