(Fort Smith, Arkansas, July 18, 2002) -- Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ/NMS - "ABFS") today announced second quarter 2002 net income of $6.5 million, or $0.26 per diluted common share, compared to second quarter 2001 net income of $9.8 million, or $0.40 per diluted common share. Revenue during this year's second quarter was $345.1 million.

"Though business levels have not significantly improved, Arkansas Best Corporation performed well during the second quarter," said Robert A. Young, III, Arkansas Best President and Chief Executive Officer. "Total debt, including current maturities and net of temporary investments, was $110.2 million at the end of the quarter. This produced a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34:1. Our financial position continues to be the strongest in the nationwide long-haul, LTL industry."

"While year-over-year tonnage comparisons remained down, ABF produced solid second quarter profitability," said Mr. Young.

ABF Freight System, Inc.^®

Second quarter revenue at ABF was $308.1 million versus $324.8 million in the second quarter of 2001. This represents a 5.2% decline in daily revenue when compared to last year. ABF's second quarter operating ratio was 95.9% versus 93.9% during the same period last year. Second quarter 2002 operating income at ABF was $12.5 million compared to $19.9 million in 2001.

LTL tonnage per day during the second quarter of 2002 decreased by 6.1% versus the comparable period last year. "However, we believe more accurate tonnage comparisons are made versus time periods prior to the third quarter of 2000, which is when ABF first began to experience tonnage declines," said Mr. Young. "In the first quarter of 2002, ABF's LTL tonnage per day was down approximately 14%, compared to the first quarter of 2000. During the second quarter of 2002, tonnage levels remained below those of the second quarter of 2000 by approximately 14%. In spite of these dramatic reductions in business, ABF has generated good profit margins, improved its revenue yields and has significant opportunities for handling a large amount of additional business without increasing fixed costs. Moving into the second half of the year, we are encouraged by positive economic indicators and by the fact that our customers say their orders are picking up."

Second quarter 2002 LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, was $21.31, an increase of 3.1% over the second quarter 2001 figure of $20.67. "This was ABF's largest quarterly increase in yield, excluding fuel surcharge, since the first quarter of 2001," said Mr. Young. "This illustrates ABF's commitment to maintaining pricing discipline and to bringing value to its customers. For instance, the transit times in more than half of ABF's terminal-to-terminal lanes have been reduced since 1999. ABF's cargo claim ratio, a measure of net cash payouts to revenue, was only 0.77% of total revenue in the second quarter of 2002, significantly below the historical aggregate experience for other LTL carriers. ABF's best-in-class web technology helps reduce our customers' administrative expense."

LTL shipments per day moving in two-day transit time lanes declined by 3.3% while LTL shipments moving longer distances throughout ABF's network decreased 4.5%. ABF's productivity measures continue to show improvements despite declines in daily LTL tonnage levels. "ABF's employees remain committed to maximizing productivity during this period of reduced business levels," said Mr. Young.

"Last quarter I stated that ABF has the potential for more profitability momentum as its business increases," said Mr. Young. "This was illustrated with the normal seasonal pickup in freight that ABF experienced in the second quarter of this year compared with the first quarter. With additional business and sound pricing decisions, ABF's operating ratio improved over two points."

"ABF continues to focus on individual account profitability. This has made ABF successful, during periods of economic growth and decline," said Mr. Young. "In anticipation of a return to normal business levels, ABF is committed to sustaining its pricing discipline and closely monitoring costs in order to generate account profitability. Though our recent tonnage levels are less than we had hoped for, we will not sacrifice price and profitability to make short-term tonnage gains. For the long term, we believe this is the right thing to do. Doing so allows ABF to come out ahead while maintaining its status as the most profitable long-haul, LTL carrier in this country."

Russell 2000^® Index

On July 9, the Frank Russell Company announced that for the third year in a row, Arkansas Best will be included in the Russell 2000 Index. This index measures the performance of the smallest 2,000 securities included in the Russell 3000 Index, which measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization. As described by the Frank Russell Company, the Russell 2000 Index is widely regarded in the industry as the premier measure of small capitalization stocks.

Conference Call

Arkansas Best Corporation will host a conference call with company executives to discuss the 2002 second quarter results. The call will be today, Thursday, July 18, at 9:00 a.m. CDT. Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (888) 695-0612. Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through Wednesday, July 31. To listen to the playback, dial (888) 203-1112. The passcode for the playback is 315820. The conference call and playback can also be accessed on Arkansas Best's Internet Web site at www.arkbest.com through Wednesday, July 31.

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.

ABF FREIGHT SYSTEM, INC.
COMBINED FINANCIAL INFORMATION
FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED JUNE 30, 2002
(Includes Fuel Surcharge Revenue, unless otherwise noted)

*Note: Values rounded to thousands ($000)

There were 64 workdays in the three months ended June 30, 2002 and in the three months ended June 30, 2001.
There were 127 workdays in the six months ended June 30, 2002 and 128 workdays in the six months ended June 30, 2001.
Includes U.S., Canadian and Puerto Rican operations of ABF affiliates.

Contact: Mr. David E. Loeffler, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
            Telephone: (479) 785-6157

            Mr. David Humphrey, Director of Investor Relations
            Telephone: (479) 785-6200