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Looking to expand its electronic business, United Parcel Service is offering customers free Internet connections to its shipping and information Web sites.

Comdata, the leader in the trucking fuel-card business, has settled a complaint by the Federal Trade Commission by agreeing to license its card-processing system to its competitors.

More small companies are gaining access to relatively high-tech information systems as the associated costs come down, with some systems at about one-tenth the cost of five years ago.

Many small trucking companies are in a bind when it comes to information technology: They like it, and they think it can help them do their jobs, but it’s often out of their price range.

More small companies are gaining access to relatively high-tech information systems as the associated costs come down. For example, companies now can set up advanced communications on the Internet at about one-tenth the cost of five years ago.

For many smaller trucking companies, getting on the information highway is a slow process, but experts say these firms will need to develop a Web presence soon if they hope to survive.

Anticipating a plummeting market rate for electronic data interchange, Tom McLeod Software is slashing by 50% the transaction fee for customers who use Kleinschmidt Inc.’s value-added network.

For many smaller trucking companies, getting on the information highway is a slow process, but experts say these firms will need to develop a Web presence soon if they hope to survive.

Many small trucking companies are in a bind when it comes to information technology: They like it, and they think it can help them do their jobs, but it’s often out of their price range.

Freight movement in the southeastern United States ground to a halt last week as a massive hurricane bobbed and weaved up the Eastern Seaboard, threatening to hammer towns from South Florida to North Carolina.