In the area of transportation, the slumping economy has proved to be both blessing and curse, depending on which side of the deal you're on, says Mark Storen, president of Tectus Consulting.

Michael McComb, regional vice president of sales with the Hub Group, says there are multiple benefits - both environmental and financial - to participating in the U.S. EPA's SmartWay Transport Partnership program.

These competitive modes have at least two things in common: Each took a drubbing in the past year or so, and each is cautiously optimistic that things are looking up.