°®¶¹´«Ã½

Freight demand for U.S. trucking companies is likely to decline as credit stays tight, a Wachovia Corp. economist said at American Trucking Associations’ annual meeting in New Orleans, Bloomberg reported.

New legislation to boost U.S. infrastructure — roads, highways and bridges — will be American Trucking Associations’ top priority in the coming year,  the Associated Press reported.

Ryder System said it will acquire Transpacific Container Terminal Ltd. and CRSA Logistics Ltd., as well as CRSA’s operations in Hong Kong and Shanghai, China.

Goldman Sachs, which recently announced that it will convert into a federally regulated bank holding company, has purchased a minority stake in closely held American Traffic Solutions, a Scottsdale, Ariz., provider of electronic toll payment and video-based traffic enforcement systems.

TransCore, a provider of radio-frequency identification devices, introduced a new transponder that is compatible with multiple electronic toll-collection systems.

Accellos Inc., Colorado Springs, Colo., a provider of warehousing and logistics management software, said it acquired Prophesy Transportation Software of Bloomfield, Conn., for an undisclosed amount.

Qualcomm Inc. added an in-cab scanning service to its mobile computing system, and launched a new reporting module designed to help carriers monitor how much fuel their drivers are burning, the company said last week.

The U.S. economy’s service sector declined but showed expanded in September, the Institute for Supply Management said Friday.

The California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach formally launched their clean-trucks programs last week without any apparent major glitches, although activity at some terminals was initially reported to be lighter than usual, with fewer trucks showing up at the gates.