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HOUSTON — During the second half of 2007, when the U.S. economy and stock market were at their respective peaks, a colleague of James Crane said he was — for a brief while — bitter and unhappy. But as gross domestic product and the value of stocks, housing and other assets fell dramatically, the smile returned to Crane’s face as he realized the comfort of cash — hundreds of millions of dollars of it.

Freight brokers and other third-party logistics providers say their non-asset-based models are helping them to steadily gain market share during the ongoing recession.

D.W. Morgan, a third-party logistics and supply chain consulting firm, has developed an iPhone application that the company said has helped it eliminate paper bills.

Ryder System said it has been certified as a third-party logistics provider in the Custom-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, an initiative that seeks to promote supply chain security and reduce border vulnerabilities.

Ryder System said that it has reached an agreement with Intelligent Global Pooling Systems to manage the flow of plastic pallets.

How can trucking and logistics companies — faced with new technology and endless updates to IT systems — avoid wasting money on uncoordinated solutions as they try to keep up with faster, more visible supply chains?

A bill to keep states from tolling existing roads in the National Highway System has been introduced in Congress by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

Legislation introduced by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) would ban the tolls on the National Highway System.

McLeod Software said Wednesday that it had purchased Intergrated Logistics Execution Network Systems, or iLENS, a logistics software company.