(FORT SMITH, Ark., August 11, 2004) – ABF Freight System, Inc.^®, announces that 20 of its professional truck drivers have earned the right to compete in the 67th National Truck Driving Championships August 18-21 in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Safety and Loss Prevention Management Council of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) conducts the annual competition to promote driving safety.

Drivers qualify for the national truck driving championships by winning a state championship. Categories include straight truck, three-axle, four-axle, five-axle, tank truck, flatbed, five-axle sleeper, twins or auto transporter. To qualify for state competitions, drivers must be accident-free for one year or more prior to the competition, although the vast majority of drivers who compete in this event have perfect or near-perfect lifetime driving records.

The drivers demonstrate their skill and knowledge through a series of tests, including a written examination, personal interview and pre-trip inspection test. Driving skills such as braking, parking, backing and maneuvering are displayed on a special driving course.

“We are well represented by this year’s 20-driver team. ABF is known for the safest and most professional drivers in the industry, and this group shows why we have this reputation. These experts use steady and exacting driving skills on a daily basis, and I know that they relish the chance to demonstrate the same skills in these competitions. With their attention to detail and dedication to safety, these drivers are great representatives for the safest carrier in North America,” commented ABF President and CEO Bob Davidson. “We applaud their skill and professionalism and congratulate them on an outstanding job.”

ABF’s state champions, including four repeat winners from 2003 and five Grand Champions, are:

Grand Champions, each of whom scored highest of all drivers in the state championship, are shown in bold. An asterisk (*) denotes repeat winners from 2003 state championships.

ABF’s safety, security and freight-handling performance has been consistently recognized as best-in-class. Acknowledging this performance, the ATA presented ABF with the 2004 Excellence in Security Award. In 2003, ABF was awarded the President’s Trophy for safety by the ATA, for an unprecedented fifth time. ABF has also been a Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) and Free and Secure Trade (FAST) approved carrier to and from Canada since 2003. During the past decade, 99 percent of all shipments handled by ABF have moved without a loss or damage claim. 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 is one of North America’s largest and most experienced motor carriers, with 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, abf.com has been ranked among the best 50 of all sites by CIO magazine and 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. Danny Loe, director of marketing & public relations
Telephone: (479) 785-8803

 Additional background information.