Mar 1, 2005 12:00 PM, [Compiled by Gary Macklin • gmacklin@primediabusiness.com]

McLeod Software has announced an exclusive joint business venture with TruCost Systems LLC, maker of an activity-based trucking industry profitability system. McLeod will incorporate TruCosting into LoadMaster, its multi-faceted software package that serves the trucking industry.

McLeod will soon provide customers the option of profitability measurement by bundling the TruCosting software into its products. This proactive software can detail profitability to the level of a lane, a customer, or a business segment, which helps users increase the productivity of a truck.

TruCosting measures both direct and indirect costs based on distance and time and calculates a route's efficiency based on expenses incurred by an individual truck. The truck's variable expenses are measured by the mile; its fixed expenses are allocated based on the time absorbed by the load. Companies using the interactive software can examine the profitability of their pricing, the cost of company-owned versus contractor-owned trucks, and the cost effects of time and distance. They can make better-informed dispatch decisions and increase overall truck productivity.
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