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As we gather in New Orleans for our 2008 Management Conference & Exhibition, it’s hard not to think back to the images of the “Crescent City” in 2005 following Hurricane Katrina. In a matter of hours, New Orleans went from a vibrant tourism destination to a city devastated by flooding.

Do you see anything in “The Bailout Plan” that indicates whether there will be fines and prosecutions for board members, chief executive officers (i.e., the big guys who walk away with millions of dollars per year in bonuses and the people who worked the deals) and the oversight committees who monitor our financial markets?

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.