FORT SMITH, Ark., April 20 -- Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS) today announced net income for the first quarter of 2001 of $9.1 million, or $0.37 per diluted common share, compared to 2000 first quarter income of $13.2 million, or $0.55 per diluted common share.

"Despite negative U.S. economic conditions, Arkansas Best Corporation had a very good quarter", said Robert A. Young III, Arkansas Best President and Chief Executive Officer. "ABF's operating ratio was one of its best first quarter operating ratios in the last 25 years."

ABF Freight System, Inc.

ABF^®'s first quarter 2001 revenue was $325.5 million, a slight per day decline of 0.4% compared to the first quarter of last year. ABF's first quarter 2001 operating ratio was 93.6% versus 91.8% during the same period in 2000. Operating income at ABF during the first three months of this year was $21.0 million versus 2000 first quarter operating income of $27.2 million. LTL revenue per hundredweight, including fuel surcharge, was $21.41, an increase of 6.0% over last year's first quarter. LTL tonnage per day during the quarter decreased 6.6% versus the same period a year ago. In spite of the decline in business levels, ABF's bills per dock hour productivity improved versus the first quarter of last year. ABF's city pickup and delivery bills per hour was down slightly. Lower business levels affected this measure by reducing the number of stops per city route and by lowering the average number of shipments per stop. In addition, the load factor on road trailers moving to end-of-line freight terminals was negatively impacted by the reduction in tonnage.

"Because of an ongoing economic slowdown, the deteriorating tonnage levels that ABF experienced in the fourth quarter of last year continued throughout the first quarter of 2001", said Mr. Young. "ABF's practice of matching labor costs to daily shipment levels has proven especially beneficial during this ongoing period of declining tonnage. Because over 60% of ABF's expenses are associated with labor, it is critical to diligently manage these costs, both in good times and in bad. This has been a key factor in ABF's producing record-setting profits over the last several years. In addition, it also allows ABF to produce a strong operating ratio when business is below desired levels."

"Generally, business declines have not resulted in significant reductions in LTL yields during the last several months. ABF believes that it is especially important during the current economic environment to maintain its policy of carefully reviewing the operating costs of individual accounts in order to make pricing decisions that produce good, overall profitability", said Mr. Young. "Though higher than last year, ABF's first quarter operating ratio remains one of the best in the LTL industry and affirms ABF as the most profitable long-haul, LTL carrier in the United States."

ABF's revenue during the full year of 2000 was $1.38 billion, an 8.0% per day increase over last year. This reflects the addition of $102 million of revenue over 1999. ABF's operating ratio for full year 2000 was 90.3%, its best since 1973 and an improvement of over one point compared to 1999's figure of 91.6%. Operating income for the year was $133.8 million, an increase of 25.1% over 1999. "For the second year in a row, ABF's full year operating income exceeded the $100 million level", said Mr. Young. ABF's total tonnage per day for the full year of 2000 decreased 0.5% versus the full year of 1999. This year-to-year change consists of a 0.6% increase in LTL tonnage per day and a 4.8% decrease in truckload tonnage per day. "Once again, this is a terrific performance by all of the people at ABF. This gives further support to the fact that ABF is the undisputed profitability leader of the long-haul, LTL industry", said Mr. Young. Freight moving in two-day transit time lanes continues to be good for ABF. In the 2001 first quarter, these shipments declined at a slower rate than those moving longer distances in ABF's normal linehaul lanes.

Capital Expenditures

Arkansas Best previously announced forecasted net capital expenditures to be between $90 and $100 million for this year. Because of the effects of the economic slowdown, each of the company's subsidiaries has re-evaluated its capital needs for the remainder of the year. At this time, net capital expenditures for 2001 are expected to be below $85 million.

Conference Call

Arkansas Best Corporation will host a conference call with company executives to discuss the 2001 first quarter results. The call will be today, Friday April 20, at 10:30 a.m. CDT. Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (800) 967-7137. Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of April. To listen to the playback, dial (888) 203-1112. The passcode for the playback is 400233. The conference call and playback can also be accessed through Monday April 30 on Arkansas Best's Internet web site at www.arkbest.com.

As we have previously stated publicly, Arkansas Best's general policy is to not provide intermediate updates of positive or negative performance trends prior to the announcement of final earnings at the end of the quarter.

Forward-Looking Statements

The following is a "safe harbor" statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements contained in this press release that are not based on historical facts are "forward-looking statements." Terms such as "estimate", "expect", "predict", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "should", "would", "scheduled", and similar expressions and the negatives of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are by their nature subject to uncertainties and risk, including, but not limited to, union relations; availability and cost of capital; shifts in market demand; weather conditions; the performance and needs of industries served by Arkansas Best's subsidiaries; actual future costs of operating expenses such as fuel and related taxes; self-insurance claims and employee wages and benefits; actual costs of continuing investments in technology; the timing and amount of capital expenditures; competitive initiatives and pricing pressures; general economic conditions; and other financial, operational and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC public filings.

The tables on the following pages show financial data on Arkansas Best Corporation and its subsidiary companies.

 

     ABF FREIGHT SYSTEM, INC.
     COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
     FOR THE QUARTER ENDED March 31, 2001

                                         Three Months Ended March 31
                                     2001            2000         % Change

    Operating Revenue*             $325,513        $331,836         (1.9)%
    Operating Income*               $20,951         $27,241
    Operating Ratio                    93.6%           91.8%


    Revenue*          LTL          $295,420        $302,937         (2.5)%
                      TL             30,093          28,899          4.1%
                      Total         325,513         331,836         (1.9)%

    Tonnage           LTL           689,761         749,917         (8.0)%
     (tons)           TL            195,242         181,857          7.4%
                      Total         885,003         931,774         (5.0)%

    Shipments         LTL         1,353,875       1,484,187         (8.8)%
                      TL             24,025          22,934          4.8%
                      Total       1,377,900       1,507,121         (8.6)%

    Revenue/CWT       LTL            $21.41          $20.20          6.0%
                      TL              $7.71           $7.95         (3.0)%
                      Total          $18.39          $17.81          3.3%

    Revenue/Shipment  Total         $236.24         $220.18          7.3%

    Cost/Shipment     Total         $221.03         $202.10          9.4%

     *Note:  Values rounded to thousands ($000)

     There were 64 workdays in the first quarter of 2001 and 65 workdays in
     the first quarter of 2000.
     Includes U.S., Canadian and Puerto Rican operations of ABF affiliates.