ABF Freight Loses $15 Million

Less-than-truckload carrier ABF Freight System lost $15.4 million in the second quarter, the company said July 21, on steep declines in volume and pricing in the trucking business.

The loss was better than the $18.2 million the Fort Smith, Ark.-based carrier lost in the first quarter, but the 17 percent slide in tonnage and the 13.1 percent drop in yield, a signal of eroding pricing, were far worse in the quarter ending June 30 than earlier in the year.

"The effects of lower freight levels and a competitive pricing environment that has intensified since the first quarter were the main challenges faced by our company in the second quarter," said Robert A. Davidson, president and CEO of ABF parent Arkansas Best.

"In addition, our results were affected by unusual increases in nonunion healthcare and pension, workers' compensation and third-party casualty insurance claims costs versus last year," he said.