Dotcom Downturn Hitting Online Ventures

August 22, 2000 9:30 AM, EDT

Like Icarus, who built wax wings to fly to the sun, the ascent of dotcom transportation providers likely will be matched by the suddenness of their impending meltdowns.

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The number of companies that make it possible to move freight or buy trucking-related products by clicking a mouse climbed from 20 to more than 100 in the past year. But now, once-eager venture capitalists are withholding funding, and one-time “killer apps” for the Internet are likely to be dead before long.

The glory days of attracting big-time money for little more than concepts are over. Investors, though still generous, expect start-ups that ask for money to prove they can earn profits. For existing dotcoms, funds are drying up like a puddle in the desert.

As a result, some foundering companies will merge with others, some will sell everything they have left to salvage what they can from their investment and others will simply pull their sites off the Internet and vanish.

For the full story, see the Aug. 21 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.