McLeod Software said its software products sales reached the highest annual total in 2009 since the company was launched 25 years ago.

According to the company, 84 transportation companies purchased a McLeod Software product during last year, including LoadMaster, PowerBroker and DocumentPower Enterprise systems.

McLeod Software cites several reasons for the success of its software offerings during a down economy. "Shrewd truckload carriers and logistics providers are investing in the latest information technology with proven return on investment to help them operate more profitably," said Rick Halbrooks, vice president of sales and marketing for McLeod. "While some of our customers also experienced record sales in 2009, most trucking companies and brokerage firms have found it difficult to increase revenues in the existing freight and rate environment.

"They realize they can, however, protect and even expand profitability by utilizing our latest technology to reduce costs, improve automation of processes, maximize productivity and optimize their asset utilization. Still others are taking advantage of this slow time to implement a vastly improved software system to position their company for growth as the economy improves," he added.

McLeod Software products currently being used by the transportation industry include more than 400 carriers using LoadMaster, more than 250 brokerage/logistics providers using PowerBroker and a mix of more than 300 carriers and brokerage firms using DocumentPower document management products.