Arkansas Best Takes 4Q Loss
Arkansas Best Corp. reported a fourth-quarter loss and said it cut about 18% of its workforce, or about 1,100 jobs, in the quarter.
The less-than-truckload carrier lost $11 million, or 44 cents a share, compared with a profit of $13.5 million, or 54 cents, a year ago.
Revenue fell 14% to $391.2 million, the company said Thursday.
LTL unit ABF Freight System took an operating loss of $15.2 million, compared with operating income of $19.8 million a year ago. Revenue fell to $375.2 million, from $441.3 million.
For the year, the company earned $29.2 million, or $1.15 per share, down from $56.8 million, or $2.26, in 2007. Revenue slipped to $1.83 billion from $1.84 billion.
For the year, ABF Freight system’s operating income fell to $48.4 million, from $84.5 million in 2007. Revenue slipped to $1.76 billion, from $1.77 billion.
“ABF’s decelerating tonnage levels and competitive pricing pressures [come] in the midst of a freight environment of unprecedented weakness,” said Robert Davidson, Arkansas Best’s chief executive officer.
“We are now over 27 months into a freight recession that is the worst I have seen during my 37 years in this industry,” he said in a statement.
Arkansas Best Corp. is ranked No. 15 on the Transport Topics 100 listing of U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers.
