DAT Services, absorbed recently by Texas-based Transcore, Inc. laid off 3% of its staff last week in a move to consolidate its operations.

Susan Little, vice president of sales and marketing, said 20 people employed in non-core businesses and positions duplicated after the TransCore acquisition were let go.
"We had seen a drop in revenue in non-core businesses such as advertising sales and have decided to focus on our core business of freight matching," Little said. "Our main business is providing content. We want to put information in our customers hands to make them better at serving their customers."
Little said the company's core freight matching business was still very healthy, growing 17% in revenue between May 2000 and May 2001.
The company had considered a move to a new facility but decided to stay and expand in its existing building in Beaverton, Ore. after more space became available. "We will be moving people in from nearby satellite offices and eventually occupy almost the entire building," Little said.
The company also plans to launch a number of new products in the coming months. Little said DATconexus will be renamed TransCore Exchange powered by DAT Services in an effort to build the TransCore brand. The company has just launched personalized freight exchange sites for broker and carrier customers which allows them to do online freight matching in their own branded environment.
In August, DAT will launch additional new services which will integrate additional content including insurance, authorities, and credit information into the exchange.