Technology Briefs — Jan. 23 - Jan. 29

This briefing can be e-mailed to you every week. Just click here to register.The Latest Headlines:

• Prophesy Says Software Sales Increased 40%
• Altfuels Face Difficult Economics, Journal Says
• Horizon to Use RFID for Alaska Shipments

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Prophesy Says Software Sales Increased 40%

Prophesy Transportation Software said sales of its dispatch software package rose 40% in 2006, as it added 221 customers. Edward Forman, president of Prophesy, Bloomfield, Conn., said the ability to integrate its DispatchSeries package with many different commercially available accounting applications was a major reason for the growth.The company also said the addition of fleet maintenance, truck tracking and load building features also aided sales. Transport Topics

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Altfuels Face Difficult Economics, Journal Says

President Bush’s plan to dramatically boost the use of alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel may face hurdles due to the lack of profitability of such fuels, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The president set a goal in his State of the Union address last Tuesday to reduce the country’s gasoline use by 20% in the next 10 years, in part by dramatically boosting the use of altfuels. (Click here for previous coverage.)But with oil prices falling to 19-month lows and the raw materials needed for ethanol, such as corn, soaring, the economics may lead to losses in alternative fuel development, the Journal reported in a Page Two story.More use of agricultural products to make fuel could also strain consumers’ pocketbooks by boosting food prices, the paper reported. Transport Topics

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Horizon to Use RFID for Alaska Shipments

Horizon Lines said it established the ocean-container shipping industry’s first fully-functional intermodal active radio frequency identification system to give customers real-time shipment visibility during transit. The system was engineered and implemented by Horizon Services Group, the company’s information technology subsidiary.Horizon is tagging its entire fleet of containers serving its Alaskan trade with RFID tags provided by hardware manufacturer Identec Solutions.The program will also include the installation of RFID readers at distribution centers, terminals and key Alaska highway routes, the company said. Transport TopicsPrevious Technology Briefs