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Smart phones and tablets are transforming the way trucking companies manage their operations, with increasing numbers of drivers, fleet managers and their shipper customers using them for work purposes, carriers and analysts said.

American Trucking Association said its Information Technology & Logistics Council is developing “reference architectures” for truckload and less-than-truckload companies to provide a road map for best business processes.

Trimble Navigation Ltd., the parent of several major trucking-technology companies, reported higher first-quarter profit as revenue grew from a year ago.

Drivewyze Inc. said Texas has added its PreClear bypass service at the state’s six busiest weigh stations and plans to activate service at 51 additional locations and 17 mobile sites within a month.

The freight transportation industry is still catching up with technology,” said Matt Ziegler, president of ZMac Transportation Solutions.

On the plus side, sharing information about the best ways to use technology helps the trucking industry become more efficient and successful. Some companies also find that technology can be a powerful marketing tool. Shippers often want their carriers, brokers and logistics companies to have sophisticated systems, so there’s an advantage to publicizing the use of various software applications.

American Trucking Associations said it is endorsing data analytics platform Athena by data mining software firm Vigillo.