What happened at the 2026 NPSA Conference?
NPSA held its 2026 Conference & Trade Show in San Antonio, Texas, from Saturday, April 11, to Tuesday, April 14. It was the first NPSA show in that city.
NPSA did not publish attendance numbers after the show, so this post gives none. Before the show, NPSA said it expected around 1,000 industry leaders.
What was the schedule?
The schedule ran four days. Here is the shape of it.
| Day | Main events |
|---|---|
| Sat, April 11 | Golf tournament at TPC San Antonio, early registration, early bird reception |
| Sun, April 12 | Registration, trade show opening, new member welcome reception, opening reception |
| Mon, April 13 | Trade show, opening ceremonies and annual business meeting, two keynotes, awards ceremony, networking reception |
| Tue, April 14 | Trade show, more sessions, operators forum, closing reception |
The 2026 show had more than 40,000 feet of exhibit hall space and 20 hours of trade show time. It also had outside demonstration booths.
Who spoke, and about what?
Two keynotes ran on Monday. Ross Bernstein spoke on building relationships through integrity and accountability. Sam Richter spoke on generative AI and your future.
Other sessions came from this list:
- Dan Greer of Eclipse DOT gave two talks: one on intentional growth and one on how understanding DOT rules fuels business expansion.
- Gene Marks of Marks Group PC spoke on strategic moves for the industry in 2026 and beyond.
- Betsy Allen-Manning gave two sessions on leadership and resilience.
- Courtney Ramsey spoke on handling tough conversations.
- A refrigerated portable storage session covered acquisition through end-of-life value.
- The operators forum and roundtable closed Tuesday.
Dan Greer’s DOT topics matter if you run delivery trucks. For the rules behind them, see our DOT and FMCSA glossary entry. Check your own state and local rules too.
Who won the 2026 Portable Storage Awards?
NPSA presented six awards at the Monday evening ceremony.
| Award | 2026 winner |
|---|---|
| Portable Storage Company of the Year | Northland Mobile to You |
| Supplier of the Year | Omni-View |
| Lifetime Achievement | Kevin Smith, Sr., Equipment Management Services, LLC |
| Innovation | 360 Products North America Inc. |
| Modification/Structure, over $50,000 | Conteneurs Experts Inc. |
| Modification/Structure, under $50,000 | The Container Guy and Midstate Containers |
Omni-View also posted its own news item about its Supplier of the Year win. For categories and how to enter, read our awards guide.
What were the trade show hours?
The conference schedule listed the trade show from 1:00 to 5:00 pm on Sunday, 8:00 am to 4:30 pm on Monday and 7:45 am to 1:30 pm on Tuesday. Check the 2027 schedule closely when NPSA posts it, because hours can change from year to year.
Which companies sponsored the show?
NPSA named sponsors for nearly every meal and event. Golf sponsors were CHS Container Group, My Container Rental and Blue Sky Intermodal. Other named sponsors included Touax, SeaCube, Textainer, CNTNR Partners, Acquipt, CARU, Florens, United Rentals, WillScot, CAI and Spinnaker.
Even more companies sponsored items such as bags, lanyards and the event app. To find the suppliers that exhibited, use the 2026 sponsor and exhibitor directory.
What happens next?
The next national show is the 2027 Conference & Trade Show, April 4-6, 2027, in Las Vegas. See what to expect at the NPSA conference for what past shows included. The 2026 event page stays up as a record, and the photo gallery has pictures.
Which parts were open to everyone, and which were by invitation?
The schedule marked two items as invite only: the New Member Welcome Reception on Sunday and a Board meeting on Monday morning. The annual business meeting was part of the Monday opening ceremonies, from 10:00 to 10:45 am. Everything else on the schedule was listed as part of the show.
If you are new to NPSA, the NPSA glossary entry explains who the association serves. The conference and trade show entry explains how the term is used in this industry.
What can you take from the program?
A program tells you what the association thinks members need. The 2026 list points to four themes: people and leadership, growth, compliance and equipment.
Here is one way to use a program like this:
- Mark the sessions that match a problem your company has today.
- Note which suppliers sponsored the meals and receptions you would want to meet.
- Check the refrigerated trailer session topic if you run or plan to run cold units.
- Ask a peer who attended what they would skip next time.
NPSA has not published session ratings, so ask a peer which sessions drew the most interest.
Next step
Plan your 2027 trip early. See upcoming dates on the events page. View NPSA events.