Arkansas Best Corp. today, Oct. 26, announced third-quarter 2007 net income of $18.9 million, compared to third-quarter 2006 net income of $31.5 million. Arkansas Best’s third-quarter 2007 revenue was $479.8 million compared to third-quarter 2006 revenue of $507.3 million.
ABF Freight System, the company’s largest subsidiary, had third-quarter 2007 revenue of $462.2 million, a per-day decrease of 6.4 percent from the third quarter of 2006. Third-quarter 2007 operating income at ABF was $28.5 million compared to $49.4 million during the third quarter of 2006. ABF’s third-quarter 2007 operating ratio was 93.8 percent versus an operating ratio of 90.0 percent in the third quarter of 2006.
“In the midst of a challenging freight environment, ABF maintained its focus on providing value to our customers while closely monitoring costs and displaying pricing discipline,” said Robert A. Davidson, president and chief executive officer of Fort Smith, Ark.-based Arkansas Best.
Davidson said that in spite of the current freight environment, the company continues to be optimistic about the potential for long-term success from ABF’s Regional Performance Model. “During the third quarter, tonnage trends for these shipments were better than those in ABF’s traditional long-haul markets,” Davidson said. “Beginning in the fourth quarter, the year-over-year impact on operating results of the RPM investment should be reduced as we start to compare back to prior-year periods that included those same costs. ABF remains fully committed to this initiative, and we anticipate that RPM will positively impact future revenue growth and profitability as we gain additional market share.”
