Arkansas Best Corp.’s Fourth-Quarter, Full-Year Income Decline

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Arkansas Best Corp.’s fourth-quarter net income fell to $14.2 million or 56 cents a share, from $30.2 million or $1.20 a year earlier, the company said Wednesday. The parent of less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System’s revenue fell to $449 million from $467 million in the previous fourth quarter, a per-day decrease of 3.9%.For the full year 2006, the company’s net income was $84.1 million or $3.30 a share, down from $104.6 million or $4.06 a share in 2005. Revenue rose to $1.86 billion from $1.75 billion.ABF Freight System, the company’s largest subsidiary, saw its revenue fall to $436.1 million from $455.5 million a year earlier, a per-day decrease of 4.3%.“Despite a challenging economic environment in the last few months of the year, Arkansas Best closed the year with a strong financial position, and ABF generated its fifth best yearly operating ratio since the industry was deregulated in 1980,” Robert Davidson, Arkansas Best’s chief executive officer, said in a statement.Arkansas Best Corp. is ranked No. 17 on the 2006 Transport Topics 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian trucking companies.