(FORT SMITH, Arkansas, April 29, 2003) — ABF Freight System, Inc.^®, a less-than-truckload (LTL) motor carrier serving points throughout North America, has chosen four customer service centers to receive its prestigious President’s Quality Award. The winning facilities are located in Fargo, North Dakota; Rochester, New York; Buffalo, New York; and Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

The selected service centers competed with 300 other ABF^® facilities in a rigorous six-step selection process. Each ABF location underwent extensive facility evaluations, a nomination process, a Quality Awareness Survey, an on-site validation audit and scrutiny by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee. Finalists were then recommended to President and CEO Robert Davidson, who selected the winners.

“ABF’s ability to provide extraordinary customer care hinges upon the training, experience and responsiveness of our local service center personnel. We are committed to having the best people, facilities, equipment and transportation tools in the industry,” stated Mr. Davidson. “These winning service centers have teams that are versatile and detail-oriented. Customer satisfaction, claims performance and resource management were just a few of the many considerations for this recognition. I am proud of their accomplishments and their continuing dedication to superior customer service. We believe they are the very best operations in the freight industry.” 

Joe Davis, director of quality awareness, said, “The intensive selection process ensures that this recognition is substantial and meaningful by incorporating ABF standards and benchmarks for excellence considered significant to the industry. These recipients have shown a proficiency for the freight business, a dedication to meeting customer needs and a commitment to continued improvement in all areas of their operation.”

The President’s Quality Award was created as recognition for those locations that exemplify the Quality Process, the company philosophy that defines quality as “conformance to agreed-upon requirements.” This process has played a vital role in ABF’s success by creating a shared language among employees, providing guidelines for identifying areas of nonconformance and offering clear channels to address and eliminate problems.

Mr. Davidson will present the President’s Quality Awards to the employees in Fargo and Buffalo on May 7 and in Rochester and Carlisle on May 8. It is the highest internal recognition awarded to ABF service centers.

ABF’s freight-handling performance has been consistently recognized as best-in-class. Over the past decade, 99% of all shipments handled by ABF have moved without a loss or damage claim. Over the past two decades, ABF has received the prestigious President’s Trophy for safety from the American Trucking Associations (ATA) in virtually every year that it has been eligible. In each of the last 30 years, ABF’s safety ranking has been first, second or third within its trucking category. In 2001, the ATA selected ABF as the top LTL motor carrier both in claims/loss prevention and in security, the first such dual award of its kind. In 2002, ABF was again selected by the ATA as the top LTL motor carrier in claims/loss prevention.

ABF Freight System offers direct service to all 50 states, nine Canadian provinces and Puerto Rico. In addition to its broad service to Mexico, the carrier offers service to 250 ports in more than 130 countries worldwide. Via its TimeKeeper^® service, ABF provides guaranteed expedited service for time-critical and time-definite shipments. The company’s Web site, www.abf.com, is ranked among the best 50 of all sites by CIO magazine and the top 10 Web sites by BtoB magazine. ABF has been in continuous service since 1923 and is the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS).

Contact: Mr. Chris Baltz, director of marketing & public relations — ABF Freight System, Inc. — Telephone: (479) 785-8803.