Fort Smith, Arkansas, February 18, 1998 -- ABF Freight System, Inc. announced today that, in the absence of special circumstances, it does not plan a general increase in its freight rates during the remainder of 1998. ABF is making its announcement in response to customer inquiries regarding a possible mid-year increase.

David E. Stubblefield, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABF, noted, "Last week, we successfully completed negotiations with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters for a new five-year labor contract to be effective on April 1. We expect retention of the January 1 rate increase and improvements in efficiency to offset additional costs from the new agreement. Although we will continue to address individual pricing arrangements that are unprofitable, we do not foresee the need for an overall increase.

"Further, we are relieved that declining fuel prices have reduced fuel costs and have deactivated our industry standard fuel surcharge during the past few weeks. We hope that the DOT diesel fuel price index remains below the level at which the fuel surcharge would apply. Obviously, we are watching closely events in the Middle East that might affect fuel prices.

"Finally, I am pleased to note that ABF's on-time service reliability during 1998 is at its highest level of the past four years. This reliable service has been made possible by a number of operational enhancements and by the active involvement of employee focus groups implementing our Quality Process at each segment of the transit movement."

Additional information is available on this Web site; from an around-the-clock Information Center at 1-800-610-5544; and at any of ABF's 311 full service branch facilities across North America.

With 1997 revenue exceeding $1.1 billion and an operating ratio of 94.5, ABF is the largest and most profitable subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ/NMS - ABFS). ABF is one of the nation's largest LTL motor carriers and one of four with service to all fifty states, plus Mexico, Puerto Rico, Canada and beyond. ABF also offers a variety of value-added services, including TimeKeeper® for guaranteed time-critical transportation.

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