Storing, Carrying Tools Just Got a Little Bit Easier

Last week's home center show at McCormick Place probably was thesmallest ever.

The number of companies displaying the latest in hardware andbuilding materials must have been down more than 50 percent from lastyear. While exhibitors spilled over into three exposition halls lastyear, this year's vendors took up only one floor of the mainbuilding.

A hardware store owner from Des Moines, Iowa, said he and otherbuyers were unhappy over the cost of doing business in Chicago.

"A cab ride from O'Hare was $40. What they want for food inMcCormick (Place) is sinful. I am not surprised that this show ismoving to Dallas next year," he said. "I was going to stay …