(Fort Smith, Arkansas, September 30, 2004) -- Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS) will announce its third quarter 2004 results, prior to the opening of the market, on Thursday, October 21st. A conference call with company executives will be held that day at 12:00 p.m. (Noon) EDT (11:00 a.m. CDT) to discuss these results. Interested parties are invited to listen by calling (877) 275-1257. Following the call, a recorded playback will be available through the end of the day on October 31, 2004. To listen to the playback, dial (800) 642-1687. The conference ID for the playback is 1162464.

This call is being Web cast and can be accessed live on Arkansas Best's Web site at www.arkbest.com. A replay of the Web cast can be accessed at Arkansas Best's Web site through October 31st.

Contact: Mr. David Humphrey, Director of Investor Relations
                Telephone (479) 785-6200