Ruan, trucking industry pioneer, dead at 96

Ruan, trucking industry pioneer, dead at 96    John Ruan, founder of Ruan Transportation Management Systems, died Feb. 13 at age 96, the company said.
   He started the Des Moines, Iowa, company with one truck in 1932 hauling gravel during the Great Depression and grew it into a large provider of dedicated contract carriage and bulk transport.
   Ruan later expanded his business interests to transportation, commercial banking, financial services, international trading and real estate development.
   In 1997, the American Trucking Associations' Ruan Transportation Center building was dedicated in Washington, D.C., honoring Ruan's more than 50 years of service to the transportation industry.