(FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE) -- ABF Freight System, Inc. announced today that it will implement a fuel surcharge, ranging from 0.5% to 3.0%, effective September 3, 1996. The surcharge level will be adjusted on each Wednesday based upon the U.S. National Average Diesel Fuel Index of the prior Monday.

This index, published by the Energy Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Energy, is available by telephone at 202-586-6966 and on their Internet site at http://www.eia.doe.gov/. This information and the exact level of the ABF fuel surcharge will be available from any ABF location or from its Internet site: http://www.abfs.com/. Further details will be provided in a letter to all active ABF customers.

Robert A. Davidson, ABF's Vice-President of Pricing, stated: "Diesel fuel prices began to rise sharply in early February. We decided to absorb the higher prices in lieu of a fuel surcharge. At that time, we believed that the increases, although severe, were temporary, and we were relieved when they finally began to fall in early summer. Unfortunately, we now see another steep climb in fuel prices -- at a time when seasonal factors should have caused them to decline. As a result, we are forced to recover a portion of this significant and unforeseen cost increase."