Raise fuel taxes to fund needed highway investments and honor the NAFTA provisions allowing Mexican trucking companies to operate in the U.S. Those are two of the straightforward opinions offered by Transplace CEO Tom Sanderson during a wide-ranging conversation on issues impacting the trucking industry.

Taking the time upfront to work with customers on a thorough requirements analysis will prevent unwelcome surprises later and will give customers the confidence and comfort level they need to move ahead with software implementations. So says Gene Gander, vice president of sales-Americas at CargoWise, a provider of software solutions and services for freight forwarders, NVOCCs, express couriers, customs brokers and other logistics companies.

Transportation and logistics companies need to be highly sensitive to customers' needs as the economy sags, says John J. Hill, executive vice president of Pilot Freight Services. And just what are cash-conscious customers looking for in logistics providers?