Arkansas Best Corporation Announces Its First Quarter 2011 Earnings Conference Call

Arkansas Best Corporation will announce its first quarter 2011 results, prior to the opening of the market, on Monday, April 25, 2011. A conference call with company executives will be held that day at 11:00 a.m. ET to discuss these results. Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (800) 772-0358.

Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of the day on May 25, 2011. To listen to the playback, dial (800) 633-8284 or (402) 977-9140 (for international callers). The conference ID for the playback is 21518748.

This call is being webcast and can be accessed live on Arkansas Best’s website at arkbest.com. A replay of the webcast can be accessed at Arkansas Best’s website through May 25.

TCA Honors Vandenput, Boyd and Howland

Three ABF Freight System drivers have recently been named Truckload Carriers Association Highway Angels.

TSA has named Serge Vandenput, a professional truck driver for ABF Freight System, Inc. as its latest Highway Angel.

ABF driver sprang to action knowing that oncoming traffic could not see trapped woman.

TCA Honors John Boyd as a Highway Angel – Again.

ABF driver responds to an accident for the second time in one year

TCA Names David Howland as Highway Angel

ABF driver assists driver trapped between deployed airbags

ABF Driver Tony Spero Earns Top Honors at National Truck Driving Championships

ABF Freight System, Inc., driver Anthony (Tony) Spero won the National Championship in the Tank Truck Class during the 72nd National Truck Driving Championships, August 18-22, 2009, in Pittsburgh. This is Spero's second National Championship. He also won the Flatbed Class during the 2006 championships.

Professional drivers earn the right to compete in the National Championships by winning state driving championships and by maintaining accident-free driving records for the past year.

Spero, a city driver at the ABF Stratford Connecticut , service center, was one of 20 state champion drivers representing ABF in the national competition. Spero qualified for the national competition by winning the tank truck class in Connecticut's state championship, where he was named 2009 Grand Champion. His record of accomplishment includes two Connecticut Grand Champion awards and nine state championship victories since 1997. A former America's Road Team Captain and a three-time member of the ABF Road Team, Spero has driven more than 20 years accident free.

"Thanks to the commitment and leadership of outstanding employees like Tony Spero, ABF has a well-earned reputation as a trusted supply-chain partner," said Jim McFarlin, ABF safety and security director. "The drive and dedication of such productive, conscientious professionals bring unmatched value-added logistics solutions to ABF customers. Everyone at ABF greatly appreciates the dedication and hard work Tony puts into every endeavor. We are proud of the way he represents both ABF and the trucking industry at large."

If YRC fails, what happens to US truck sector?

The fortunes of a particular corner of the U.S. trucking industry in the next year are as tied to whether one company, YRC Worldwide Inc, survives as they are to a recovery in the recession-bound U.S. economy.

If YRC fails it could provide competitors with just the reduction in industry capacity they need to jack up pricing for the first time since late 2006.

While that would be good news for the less-than-truckload (LTL) market -- which refers to truckers who consolidate smaller loads into a single truck -- it will hurt customers already facing the pinch in a down economy.

YRC, based in Overland Park, Kansas, nearly quadrupled its revenue from $2.6 billion in 2002 to a peak of $9.9 billion in 2006 thanks largely to two major acquisitions, and is important because it controls some 20 percent of the LTL market.

"One of two things has to happen: either we have to lose capacity or demand has to come back," said Morgan Keegan analyst Art Hatfield. "The rate at which YRC's business is deteriorating makes it more likely that it will be them to go out of business rather than someone else."

He said a YRC failure "would have a positive effect on the market, as it would help restore the balance between supply and demand. It would also help stop the bleeding on pricing."

LTL shippers account for around 13.6 percent of America's trucking sector, with the rest dominated by the highly fragmented truckload -- or long-haul -- market. Full Story.......

Arkansas Truck Operators Put Skills to Test

Vehicular obstacles challenged about 100 truck drivers as part of the driving portion of the Arkansas Trucking Championship, a three-day contest that ended Saturday.

The organized competition for drivers held annually in Northwest Arkansas challenged technicians to fix engine problems and drivers to demonstrate their proficiency in avoiding obstacles.

Truckers began lining up for the driving competition around 8 a.m.

John Mullins of Benton, an ABF Freight Systems driver, placed as Arkansas Grand Championship driver for 2009. Loren Hatfield, who also works for Fort Smith-based ABF, finished second overall. Full Story........

ABF Freight System competitor seeks federal bailout funds

A request for federal bailout funds from a national trucking company is unlikely to obtain a favorable response, but it does indicate the potential impact of the precedent set by federal bailouts of the financial and auto sectors.

YRC Worldwide, the nation’s largest trucking company and a primary competitor in the less-than-truckload sector with Fort Smith-based ABF Freight System, has requested $1 billion in federal bailout money (Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP funds) to help cover an estimated $2 billion pension obligation the company will owe in the next two years.

YRC CEO Bill Zollars said a portion of the pension cost is unfair because the multi-employer pension program pays the costs of retirees who never worked for YRC. ABF Freight System also contributes to the multi-employer pension fund and, like YRC, is supporting retirement costs for those who never worked for ABF.

“For our union employees throughout the country, ABF participates in, and contributes to, many of the same multi-employer pension funds that YRCW does. We are in a much better financial position than they are as we have minimal debt and our balance of cash and short-term investments was $209 million as of April 15th,” David Humphrey, ABF spokesman noted in an e-mail interview with The City Wire. “However, we understand the issues they are raising regarding the unfairness of contributing companies like YRCW and ABF having to fund the benefits of retirees who never worked for us whose companies have gone out of business. These efforts by YRCW should help highlight the unfairness of this situation.”

Chad Brand, a trucking sector watcher at Seeking Alpha, was critical of Zollars’ request.

“Awfully presumptuous of him, don’t you think, applying as a trucking company without any indication Treasury would ever widen TARP to include any U.S. corporation? I would be shocked if this were approved, and if somehow it is, TARP would be completely out of control,” Brand noted in this post [1].

However, YRC employs more than 49,000, with many of them belonging to unions. It’s the union component, or, more specifically, propping up a pension plan for union members, that gives the YRC request a wisp of political cover.

John Taylor, senior vice president of John Taylor Financial-Sterne Agee and a member of the board of directors at Fort Smith-based Benefit Bank, said he can’t “fathom” how YRC will qualify for TARP funds. Taylor does not have investments in YRC or ABF.

“If they (YRC) do (get TARP funds) this is another classic example of a company (ABF) that did the right things (no debt, cash on the balance sheet, good expense control) being put at a competitive disadvantage by the government to a company that did all of the wrong things,” Taylor said. “ABF already has a disadvantage versus YRCW due to the wage concessions granted by the Teamsters to YRCW last year. Now a company that is debt free may have to compete with a competitor that is funded with taxpayer money. This is just like the GM versus Ford deal that is playing out except it is in the (trucking) industry. What is next? Maybe Krispy Kreme versus Dunkin’ Donut?”

'Best of the Best' ABF Service Centers Recognized With President's Quality Awards

ABF Freight System, Inc., service centers in Spokane and Tacoma, Wash.; Amarillo, Texas; and Albuquerque, N.M., are the 2009 winners of the prestigious President's Quality Award, which represents the highest honor the company can bestow upon its facilities. The award recognizes those most exemplifying the ABF Quality Process and considered the "Best of the Best".

This marks the third time the Amarillo facility has earned the recognition. It is the second consecutive year for Albuquerque and the first year for both Spokane and Tacoma.

ABF service centers annually undergo extensive evaluations, including a nomination process, 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 for the previous year. Finalists are reviewed by ABF President and Chief Operating Officer Wes Kemp, who makes the final selections.

"We believe our customers deserve error-free service," said Mr. Kemp. "The personalized customer care ABF provides comes from the training, experience, and responsiveness of our local service center personnel. These employees have demonstrated what can be achieved when the principles of the ABF Quality Process are put into practice. Our company has prospered because of our dedication to serving internal and external customers in a helpful, efficient, innovative, and error-free manner. In this context, these four facilities have earned the distinction and I'm looking forward to my visit with each one in celebration of their achievement."

Mr. Kemp is scheduled to present the awards in Amarillo and Albuquerque on May 26, 2009, and in Tacoma and Spokane on May 27, 2009. Each facility is presented with a plaque that resides permanently at their location and a Quality Cup that resides only as long as a facility maintains the distinction. Each ceremony is attended by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee, local employees, and special guests.

Capacity rationalization still needed in trucking industry

Implications

This article, while sounding draconian, accurately reflects the trucking industry's excess capacity still chasing too little demand. So, what is the impact, now and in the future, between transportation suppliers and consumers?

Consider the following points: 1. With excess capacity still in the market, a majority of agreements between shippers and carriers are probably based solely on price (rates and discounts). 2. When the economy eventually rebounds, it will be leaner and more efficient across a breadth of industries. Accordingly, the surviving carriers will be those with streamlined linehaul operations, updated "back-office" and in-cab technology coordinating deliveries in a rationalized network minimizing the number of empty miles. 3. Lesson to be learned: Carriers -- improve/optimize now. Shippers --- develop your relationships now as price points will adjust upward once supply and demand are rebalanced.

Analysis

A contemporary example of the impact of the industry's capacity rationalization is the recent annnouncement by ABF to consolidate and realign its operations.

In a nutshell, they are seeking efficiencies and it's analogous to an airline improving yield management by allocating the right size aircraft on the right length flight to carry the maximum number of passengers per mile. In trucking, it's very similar; the more direct the route, with fully loaded trailers, the better. This simply means less handling (less labor cost & potential for damage) and greater density per mile traveled. All of this adds up to better efficiency, which will drive costs lower.

Only the fittest will survive in this industry over the next 2-3 years. Those carriers that emerge on the other side of this recession will then be positioned to provide shippers with efficient distribution networks. However, I suspect they will have long memories of which companies negotiated with them now only on price instead of developing strategic supplier relationships as part of building a robust supply chain for the future.

Arkansas Best slips to loss in Q1

Transportation holding company Arkansas Best Corp. reported a loss in its first quarter, reflecting significantly lower freight levels, hurt by poor economy, and a very competitive pricing environment.

For quarter, the company posted a net loss of $18.16 million or $0.73 per share, compared to a net income of $8.54 million or $0.34 per share last year. The company noted that the quarterly results included $0.15 per share costs from the ABF RPM initiative compared to $0.10 per share in the preceding year.

Quarterly operating revenues fell to $339.68 million, a per-day decrease of 22.9%, from $447.51 million in the same quarter a year ago. Operating loss was $28.60 million, versus operating income of $13.15 million in the prior year. Interest and dividend income plunged to $930 thousands from $1.82 million in the previous year.

ABF Freight System, Inc., the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best, generated revenues of $323.11 million, lower than last year's $427.75 million. Total billed revenue per hundredweight was $23.85, a decrease of 9.4%, compared to $26.32 in the prior year. The decline was mainly due to the steep decline in fuel surcharge compared to the first quarter of 2008. Other revenues and eliminations were $16.56 million, in comparison with $19.76 million in the preceding year.

Last truck rolls off the line at Sterling Truck

More than a quarter-million trucks rolled off the line during the 11-year history of Sterling Truck, St. Thomas.

But this one, bearing a Canadian flag taped to the windshield, is the last.

Wednesday that truck, number 257,330, rolled off the line bringing an end to production at the South Edgeware Road facility.

Workers placed their hands on the vehicle and had pictures taken with a truck that marks the end of 17 years of truck construction here in St. Thomas.

"Now they don't build trucks in Canada anymore. It's brutal," said 16-year employee Gerald McCormick. He described the mood Wednesday as "sombre."

"It is the end of an era. You're never going to see another Sterling Truck start up at the plant," said Dave Elliott, president of CAW Local 1001."It's a sad day, a very sad day for our membership."

He said the truck was built for ABF Freight, a long-time Sterling customer.

Truck production at the South Edgeware Road site began in 1992 under the Freightliner truck brand. Production of Sterling trucks began in 1998 and at its height, the plant employed more than 2,000 workers.

Back in October, 2008, Daimler Trucks North American announced the end of the Sterling Truck brand, stating the last shift at the plant would be March 27 — the plant would close two days later.

Until that time, Elliott said the remaining 700 or so employees will decommission equipment and ship tools and parts to other plants.

As March 27 draws near, it's going to be tough, he predicts.

"When these people you've been working with for 16 years, they go their locker... and give their final goodbye and shake your hand... emotions are going to run very high that day."

The union's job action centre on Mondamin Street — which will relocate to Local 1001's office on Curtis Street shortly — will remain open until the end of 2010 to help unemployed workers find jobs, Elliott said.

"We all keep our fingers crossed that someone might buy the plant and would be interested in having representation from a union. But there's no guarantees there. That's only a hope."

Arkansas Best Included on Fortune's 2009 List of World's Most Admired Companies

Arkansas Best Corporation appears on the 2009 list of the World's Most Admired Companies, published by Fortune magazine. Arkansas Best is the highest ranking less-than-truckload motor carrier among the Most Admired Trucking companies. The full list and related stories appear in the March 16th issue of Fortune, available on newsstands Monday, March 9th.

"Arkansas Best is proud to be recognized with this prestigious honor," said Arkansas Best President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Davidson. "Our company's reputation has been earned by the consistent performance of employees throughout North America, who bring value to the supply chains of our customers. So it is particularly rewarding to see their efforts recognized as exceptional. In addition, our customers will be pleased to learn that their supply chain partner has earned the admiration of the world's best business leaders."

Fortune's survey partners at Hay Group, a global management consulting firm, started with some 1,400 companies: the Fortune 1,000--the 1,000 largest U.S. companies ranked by revenue; non-U.S. companies in Fortune's Global 500 database with revenues of $10 billion or more; and the top foreign companies operating in the U.S. They then sorted the companies by industry and selected the 15 largest for each international industry and the 10 largest for each U.S. industry.

The survey covers 64 industries: 25 international industries and 39 primarily U.S.-market industries. To create the 64 industry lists, Hay Group asked executives, directors, and analysts to rate companies in their own industry on nine criteria, from investment value to social responsibility. This year only the best are listed: A company's score must rank in the top half of its industry survey.

Teamsters moving to Mokena

After what officers of the union called a 20-year search for a new home, Teamsters Local 710 will move its offices from Chicago to a Mokena industrial park.

The new building, expected to be finished by October, will house about 60 employees of the local as well as its health, welfare and pension funds.

Chartered in 1903, the local now has its offices at 4217 S. Halsted St. and originally represented drivers working in Chicago's stockyards.

"The freight industry grew as the meat industry shrank," Pat Flynn, 710's secretary-treasurer, said at a groundbreaking Thursday for the new 30,000-square-foot building.

The nation's fourth-largest Teamsters local with 14,000 members, 710 represents drivers who work for companies such as ABF, Holland, Roadway, UPS and Yellow.

The local long had studied a move to the suburbs, said Jim Dawes, the local's president.

"This is a task that has literally taken 20 years," he said.

A ZIP code search of where its members live helped identify the southwest suburbs as the "perfect location" for an office that would be more accessible to 710's members, said Flynn, a Tinley Park resident.

"Our entire membership is out in this area today," he said. "This truly is the center of our universe here."

Apart from the union employees who'll work at the office, it will be frequently visited by members looking for information regarding insurance and pension issues, Flynn said. Local business, such as restaurants, could see increased business as a result, he said.

"Our members make decent money, and we spend it pretty well, too," Flynn said.
Having the local move its offices to the village will "bring a greater level of credibility and awareness" to Mokena, Mayor Joe Werner said. Another major union, the Pipefitters, also has offices and a training center in Mokena.

The union's office will be at 9000 W. 187th St. in Corporate Corridors, a business park being developed by Tinley Park-based TCB Development. It's the third such light industrial project undertaken in Mokena by TCB, which has built about 10 million square feet of commercial space in the Chicago area, primarily in the Southland.

Arkansas Best Freight's biggest competitor on brink of bankruptcy

Arkansas Best Freight's biggest competitor is on the verge of collapse, but a deal with the Teamsters union could save 40 thousand jobs. ABF is based in Fort Smith. The Yellow Roadway Corporation is a freight company based in Overland Park, Kansas. facing economic hardship, the company has reached an agreement with union leaders for a 10 percent pay cut across the board. but that doesn't mean the employees won't benefit.

"Through this plan we have created a trust so the members get a 15 percent stake in the company," Teamsters spokesman Brett Caldwell told 5NEWS.

Union employees won't be the only ones tightening their belts. non-union employees will also be asked to make an equal sacrifice. There will be ten percent less in their paychecks. a spokesman for the international brotherhood of teamsters says a similar offer has not been extended to arkansas best freight at this time and the carrier doesn't seem to want one.

This statement was released Friday: "ABF has reviewed the details of the agreement between YRC Worldwide and the international brotherhood of teamsters. We do not believe that agreement is appropriate for our company. We are in the midst of evaluating its impact on our employees, our cost structure and our competitiveness."

Some have speculated that YRC will significantly undercut abf's rates to survive. but Tteamster spokesman Brett Caldwell says that's not the case.

"We want YRC jobs to be protected we want ABF jobs to be protected. In no way would we do this program in order to undercut another union employer."

Caldwell insists that YRC's survival is in Arkansas Best's...best interest.

"If yrc has problems the financial pressure is on ABF as a surviving company for those pension funds would be tremendous."

YRC worldwide teamsters will still have to vote on the contract changes which will likely be approved and take effect January first 2009.

ABF's statement went on to say that they will always act in the best interest of the company and work to ensure the preservation of employee jobs.

ABF Eyes Wage Cuts

ABF Freight Systems is warning its workers it may seek the same kind of concessions that competitor YRC Worldwide recently negotiated with its unionized employees.

In an internal memo to employees, ABF President and Chief Operating Officer Wesley B. Kemp said the company is already losing business to non-union carriers, and the YRC wage cuts add that much more pressure to compete in the LTL market.

"If we're going to do anything about this, now may be the best time to act, while we're financially healthy, rather than waiting until we face a crisis," Kemp said in the memo. "We'll be following the YRCW results closely in the coming days and will let you know what we feel is best for our company."

In confirming the memo, David Humphrey, ABF's director of investor relations, noted that ABF employees "do a great job" for the company. "Nevertheless, it is true that the total cost of our wages and fringe (benefits) are higher than many of our competitors. That makes it difficult for us to grow, especially in the current economy. We always welcome the opportunity to talk to the Teamsters about additional ways to improve our competitive position and to preserve Teamster jobs."

Government keeps 11-hour limit on truckers hours

Government agency maintains 11-hour limit on truckers hours, instead of proposed change to 10

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on Tuesday maintained a regulation that allows truck drivers to stay on the road for 11 hours in a row, rather than a limit of 10.

In a conference call, administrator John Hill said that there was no evidence that safety of travelers is jeopardized by having truck drivers on the road for 11 hours.

Safety advocates say the industry is putting the public at risk by allowing truckers to drive too many hours.

The trucking industry's main trade group, the American Trucking Association, has been a proponent of maintaining the 11-hour limit, arguing that further limiting trucker's hours would have been costly and would have required the industry to retrain drivers and operating personnel, reprint logs, reengineer routes and make other changes.

A spokeswoman for the group said the ATA was pleased with the decision and noted that current safety rules, first established in 2004, have already resulted in safer highways. The ATA represents companies including UPS Inc. and YRC Worldwide Inc.