(FORT SMITH, Ark., September 17, 2009) — ABF Freight System, Inc.^®, announced that September 17th, 2009, marks the 25th anniversary of the ABF Quality Process.

“Quality performance tracks back to the company’s origins in 1923,” said ABF President and Chief Operating Officer Wes Kemp. “However, in 1984 ABF took the bold step of formally institutionalizing the four absolutes of Quality, resulting in management and employees being better equipped to resolve and prevent problems. Without a doubt, the ABF Quality Process has played a key role in our success and is now engrained in our company’s culture.”

All ABF^® employees are trained to be versatile and detail-oriented. ABF service centers routinely undergo extensive quality evaluations, including a quality awareness survey, an on-site validation audit, and scrutiny by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee. The comprehensive process gauges resource management, damage/loss prevention, customer satisfaction, and other key performance indicators. The highest internal recognition an individual ABF service center can earn is the President's Quality Award, which annually recognizes locations that best exemplify the ABF Quality Process.

Education through quality seminars, job-skills training, focus groups and designated quality teams have ensured that quality at ABF is a process, not merely a program. Based on principles articulated by the late Philip Crosby, the process emphasizes ongoing prevention rather than end-of-line inspection. Identifying and eliminating the causes of problems saves money and requires no additional expenditure.

“We believe our customers deserve error-free service,” said Mr. Kemp. “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. Our company has prospered because of our dedication to serving internal and external customers in a helpful, efficient, innovative and error-free manner.”

Established in 1923, ABF is best-in-class for safety, security, technology and freight-handling. InformationWeek, CIO, InfoWorld, and BtoB magazines have cited ABF’s strategic use of information technology as exemplary. ABF is the only five-time winner of the American Trucking Associations President’s Trophy for Safety, the only five-time winner of the Excellence in Security Award, and the only four-time winner of the Excellence in Claims/Loss Prevention Award. ABF also is the only carrier to earn both the Excellence in Claims/Loss Prevention Award and the Excellence in Security Award in the same year, which ABF accomplished twice.

ABF provides guaranteed service for expedited or time-definite shipments via its TimeKeeper^® service. Regional shipments are handled via the carrier’s RPM^® Network, providing next-day and second-day shipping. The ABF system stretches throughout North America, with local service centers serving all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Guam, and Puerto Rico. Globally, the carrier serves 250 ports in more than 130 countries.

ABF is the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS).

Source: ABF Freight System, Inc.

Contact: Mr. Danny Loe, director of marketing & public relations
Telephone: (479) 785-8803

Websites: abf.com
              TimeKeeper.com 
              FreightValue.com 
              upack.com