The last good show I went to was ProMat 2001. That is until last month when ProMat 2003 was held at Chicago's McCormick Place. And it felt great.

Now that might be in part because it had been two years since I had been at an event that not only had strong attendance but people who were upbeat about what's ahead. Maybe there was an element of relief to once again be at a show where the glass looked half full and not nearly empty. Or perhaps it was a matter of seeing all of the opportunity that lies out there to improve warehousing and distribution operations.

Those are all good indicators that ProMat was a winner. But the strongest reason came from the attendees themselves.

On the first day of the show, Modern Materials Handling surveyed people like yourself - the buyers of materials handling equipment, systems and related software. Sixty-three percent said they were currently working on a funded project. There isn't anyone I've told of that result who has not been impressed. By the way, another 33 percent said they plan to have funding for a materials handling project in the next 12 months. That leaves just 4 percent who were walking the floor without a project.

Apparently, people didn't go to the show without a project in mind. It's not all that surprising given the economy, threat of war and general aversion to travel. But it is quite a difference from what many had come to expect at shows. All but gone, from ProMat 2003 at least, were the so-called tire kickers who were there primarily to get some exercise and pick up literature.

By the way, our survey also showed some other interesting results. Seventy-four percent said they plan to increase spending this year on materials handling equipment, systems and related software. Nineteen percent said spending will remain the same, and just 7 percent anticipate a decrease. Great result, especially given the past couple of years of declining spending on materials handling.

You might also be interested in where all this spending is headed. The vast majority - 63 percent - are working on an upgrade, replacement or retrofit. Twenty-one percent are expanding an existing building. Meanwhile, 16 percent are building a new facility.

Not exactly any surprises there given capital expenditure budgets, the economy and where the triage needs to be done first. But what matters now is that money appears ready to be spent. And as you can see from our coverage of press conferences at ProMat, there are still plenty of new advances to help you improve productivity and better manage the supply chain. Happy spending.