(Fort Smith, Arkansas, July 20, 2004) — Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS) today announced second quarter 2004 net income of $19.3 million, or $0.76 per diluted common share, compared to second quarter 2003 net income of $15.2 million, or $0.60 per diluted common share.  Excluding an after-tax charge of $1.6 million ($0.06 per diluted common share) related to increased reserves associated with the previously announced insolvency of one of Arkansas Best’s workers’ compensation excess claims insurers, second quarter 2004 earnings were $0.82 per diluted common share.  Excluding a gain of $0.33 per diluted common share associated with the sale of Arkansas Best’s 19% interest in Wingfoot Commercial Tire Systems, LLC, second quarter 2003 earnings were $0.27 per diluted common share.  Arkansas Best’s second quarter 2004 revenue was $424.5 million compared to $384.8 million in the second quarter of 2003.

ABF Freight System, Inc.^®

ABF Freight System, Inc., the company’s largest subsidiary, had second quarter 2004 revenues of $391.0 million, a per-day increase of 13.6% compared to second quarter 2003 revenue of $344.1 million.  Second quarter 2004 operating income at ABF was $32.8 million compared to $14.6 million during the second quarter of 2003, an increase of 125%.  ABF’s second quarter 2004 operating ratio was 91.6% versus an operating ratio of 95.8% during the second quarter of 2003.  “ABF greatly benefited from an increase in business that began in February, surged in April and continued throughout the entire second quarter,” said Robert A. Young III, Arkansas Best President and Chief Executive Officer.  “During the poor economic environment of the last several years, I have talked about the significant operating leverage and improved margins ABF could generate with additional business.  This year’s second quarter results illustrate this point.”

ABF’s second quarter 2004 LTL tonnage per day increased by 7.8% versus the same period last year.  Compared to this year’s first quarter, ABF’s second quarter 2004 LTL tonnage per day increased by 9.8%.  “Following minimal increases in February and March, ABF’s year-over-year LTL tonnage levels began to dramatically improve in April by percentages not seen in several years.  In addition, the year-over-year increase in LTL tonnage grew during each successive month of the second quarter, indicating economic momentum throughout the quarter,” said Mr. Young.  “ABF is benefiting from overall general economic recovery, particularly in the domestic manufacturing sector.  We believe that ABF was delayed in experiencing the business growth seen earlier by other carriers because of the manufacturing concentration of its core business.”

Billed LTL revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, was $24.06, an increase of 3.8% over last year’s second quarter figure of $23.19.  “As business grows and capacity tightens, the general pricing environment is improving,” said Mr. Young.  “The retention of the June 14 general rate increase has been good.  In addition, ABF is reviewing the portions of its business that are not generating adequate returns in order to address specific situations and improve overall profitability.”  

ABF’s truckload tonnage per day improved by 10.9% during the second quarter when compared to last year.  Billed truckload revenue per hundredweight, excluding fuel surcharge, increased by 5.6% over last year’s second quarter figure.  “There has been significant tightening of pricing in the truckload environment,” said Mr. Young.  “Beginning in mid-February and continuing throughout the second quarter, ABF raised prices in its truckload spot quotation market.   In spite of these actions, business levels remained strong and profits on this business improved.  ABF is clearly seeing additional freight that was formerly handled by truckload carriers.  However, we believe this is related more to an overall tightening of general truckload capacity due to the improving economy rather than to the effects of the changes in the federal Hours of Service Regulations.”

“On a bills-per-hour basis, second quarter productivity measures at ABF equaled those of the second quarter of 2003 and generally surpassed those of the prior three quarters,” said Mr. Young.  “The additional freight ABF handled in the second quarter was a positive factor contributing to ABF’s productivity improvements.”   

“In order to take full advantage of its remaining operating leverage, ABF does not generally need to add fixed cost capacity.  Since LTL tonnage per day in the second quarter of 2004 was still 6% below that in the same period of the highly profitable year of 2000, ABF’s fixed cost network has some available capacity,” said Mr. Young.  “As a result, there is more potential for even greater utilization of these resources.  Despite its focus on maintaining existing fixed cost levels, ABF will add the variable costs necessary to handle additional business while sustaining its high standard of customer service.”   

Workers’ Compensation Reserve Adjustments

Arkansas Best’s second quarter 2004 net income and earnings per share were adversely affected by increased workers’ compensation reserves associated with the liquidation of Reliance Insurance Company.  Reliance was Arkansas Best’s excess insurer for the years 1993 through 1999.  For claims not accepted by state guaranty funds, Arkansas Best has continually maintained reserves for its exposure to the Reliance liquidation since 2001.  However, during this year’s second quarter, Arkansas Best began receiving notices of rejection from the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CAIGA) on certain claims previously accepted by this guaranty fund.  If these claims are not covered by the CAIGA fund, they become part of Arkansas Best’s exposure to the Reliance liquidation.  An after-tax charge of $1.6 million ($0.06 per diluted common share) to increase the reserves for this additional exposure was recorded in the second quarter of 2004.

Common Stock Purchase

During the second quarter of 2004, Arkansas Best made open-market purchases, totaling 140,100 shares, of its common stock.  The total purchase price for these transactions was $3.7 million.  These common shares were added to the company’s treasury stock.  Since February 2003, as a part of a previously announced program to repurchase up to a maximum of $25 million of its common stock, Arkansas Best has purchased a total of 471,500 shares totaling $12.4 million.  Arkansas Best plans to continue making open-market purchases of its stock on an opportunistic basis.

Conference Call

Arkansas Best Corporation will host a conference call with company executives to discuss the 2004 second quarter results.  The call will be today, Tuesday, July 20, at 10:00 a.m. EDT.  Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (877) 275-1257.  Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of July.  To listen to the playback, dial (800) 642-1687.  The conference call ID for the playback is 8339161.  The conference call and playback can also be accessed, through Saturday, July 31, on Arkansas Best’s Internet Web site at www.arkbest.com.

Company Description

Arkansas Best Corporation, headquartered in Fort Smith, Arkansas, is a diversified transportation holding company with two primary operating subsidiaries.  ABF Freight System, Inc., in continuous service since 1923, provides national transportation of less-than-truckload (“LTL”) general commodities throughout North America.  Clipper is an intermodal marketing company that provides domestic freight services utilizing rail and over-the-road transportation.

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,” “forecast,” “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 Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) public filings.

The following tables show financial data and operating statistics on ABF Freight System, Inc.

	Three Months Ended June 30				Six Months Ended June 30
	2004	2003	% Chg		2004	2003	% Chg
Billed Revenue*/CWT   LTL	$     25.37	$    23.97	5.8%		$     24.97	$     24.02	4.0%
TL	$       9.37	$      8.59	9.1%		$       9.09	$       8.56	6.2%
Total	$     22.21	$    21.00	5.8%		$     21.83	$     21.10	3.4%
Billed Revenue*/CWT   LTL	$     24.06	$    23.19	3.8%		$     23.78	$     23.11	2.9%
(without fuel               TL	$       8.90	$      8.43	5.6%		$       8.66	$       8.38	3.3%
surcharge) Total	$     21.07	$    20.34	3.6%		$     20.79	$     20.33	2.3%
Billed Revenue*/Shpt   LTL	$   248.68	$   233.91	6.3%		$   245.43	$   233.42	5.1%
TL	$1,553.27	$1,399.48	11.0%		$1,496.93	$1,388.27	7.8%
Total	$   267.38	$   250.37	6.8%		$   263.59	$   249.30	5.7%
Billed Revenue*/Shpt    LTL	$   235.84	$   226.30	4.2%		$   233.77	$   224.54	4.1%
(without fuel                            TL	$1,474.62	$1,373.97	7.3%		$1,426.25	$1,357.99	5.0%
surcharge)Total	$   253.61	$   242.50	4.6%		$ 251.07	$   240.12	4.6%
Tonnage                     LTL	715,078	663,275	7.8%		1,366,524	1,302,472	4.9%
(tons)                         TL	175,872	158,608	10.9%		337,176	303,026	11.3%
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