ABF/CAROLINA COMBINATION PRODUCING LOWER THAN EXPECTED REVENUES

(ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION - NASDAQ/NMS: "ABFS")

(Fort Smith, Arkansas, November 10, 1995) - Robert A. Young III, President and CEO of Arkansas Best Corporation, announced today that based on October results, ABF has a great deal of work to do over the next few months to realize the benefits of the ABF/Carolina combination that occurred during the last week of September.
"We estimate a retention of approximately $200 to $250 million of revenue from Carolina Freight and Red Arrow. This is well below our initial estimate of $300 million," said Young.
"October was the first full month of the combined operations. The lower than anticipated revenue levels require additional reductions in equipment and staffing in order to realize the benefits of the ABF/Carolina merger.
"Depreciation expense on excess equipment, and over-staffing produced a loss in October, which is normally the strongest month of the quarter.
"The merging of Carolina's freight into the ABF system caused some service-related problems during the last week of September, but system service levels returned to normal during October.
"We were disappointed with the bottom line of the first month of combined operations, but we now have a good fix on what needs to be done," said Young.
Contact:      Mr. Randall M. Loyd, Director - Financial Reporting
                     Telephone: (501) 785-6200