YRCW has has entered into a definite agreement to sell a portion of its YRC Logistics business to strategic private equity investor Austin Ventures for $37 million.

The big players continue their aggressive push into the supply chain management software space, using acquisitions and internal technology development to beef up their WMS and TMS offerings, build out planning and optimization, and even add event management to their menus.

Over the last couple of weeks, we've been talking to analysts about what they’re seeing in the supply chain technology markets they cover, RFID, voice and warehouse management (WMS) and transportation management (TMS) systems.

Last week, IBM announced that it plans to acquire AT&T subsidiary Sterling Commerce, a provider of business-to-business integration and cross-channel solutions for $1.4 billion. The transaction is expected to close later this year.

Supply chain consultancy Armstrong & Associates this week released updated figures for 2009 U.S. third-party logistics market revenues.

While the effects of the global recession took its toll on enterprise software markets to a large degree in the form of a double-digit revenue reduction, it does not appear that damage to the Transportation Management System (TMS) market was nearly as severe, according to research from ARC Advisory Group.

Entitled Managed Transportation Services (MTS), company officials said this offering provides shippers with superior visibility from pickup through delivery, coupled with centralized technology to monitor and improve supply chain operations.

The results of our annual study shouldn’t surprise anyone: Spending is down or flat across most supply chain software categories; purchase expectations are lower than they were in 2009; and more shippers are turning to SaaS in lieu of purchase-and-install. Our tech correspondent divulges all of the findings.

Many trucking executives believe that we’re on the cusp of a steady, prolonged recovery with solid price increases to match. Analysts aren’t so sure. But nearly all agree that shippers should expect rate increases when their contracts expire, some in the 3-percent to 5-percent range. Here are the four issues that are now in the driver’s seat.