Arkansas Best trucking company to trim 350 more jobs

The Associated Press

1/29/2009

FORT SMITH, Ark. — Arkansas Best Corp. trucking company says it will lay off 350 people, in addition to the 1,100 workers it let go last year.

The Fort Smith-based company said Thursday it has cut its workforce by 18 percent overall. The company says it has reduced its fleet by 14 percent in road tractors and 9 percent in trailers, with further reductions to come.

Arkansas Best Chief Executive Officer Robert Davidson said the company has been caught in a freight recession for 27 months and conditions were the worst he has seen in nearly four decades in the trucking business.

The company announced Thursday it lost $11 million for its fourth quarter, compared to a profit a year ago of $13.5 million.

Arkansas Best serves the entire United States and specializes in less-than-truckload trucking, a method that combines freight from multiple shippers into single truckloads.