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.

The consequences can be enormous, even catastrophic, if a supplier fails. Jim Lawton, senior vice president and general manager of D&B Supply Management Solutions, says you must have a risk-assessment plan in place at all times.

The economy has not been good to this sector, says Walt Rakowich, ProLogis CEO, but some trends in industrial real estate are very promising. First, there is growing demand for sustainable warehouses. Second, a combination of GDP spurts and natural obsolescence of buildings stimulates construction.