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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549

FORM 4

STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

o Check this box if no longer
subject to Section 16.
Form 4 or Form 5
obligations may continue.
See Instruction 1(b).

1.	Name and Address of Reporting Person* (Last, First, Middle)	2.	Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol				3.	I.R.S. Identification Number of Reporting Person, if an entity (Voluntary)
	Young III, Robert A.		Arkansas Best Corporation -- "ABFS"
	3801 Old Greenwood Road	4.	Statement for Month/Day/Year				5.	If Amendment, Date of Original (Month/Day/Year)
			10/24/2002
	(Street)	6.	Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer (Check All Applicable)				7.	Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)
	Fort Smith, AR 72903 (City)                (State)           (Zip)		x	Director	x	10% Owner		x	Form filed by One Reporting Person
			x	Officer (give title below)				o	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
			o	Other (specify below)
				President & Chief Executive Officer

Reminder:	Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
*	If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see instruction 4(b)(v).

Table I — Non-Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned

1.

Title of Security (Instr. 3)

2.

Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

2a.

Deemed Execution Date, if any. (Month/Day/Year)

3.

Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

4.

Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)

5.

Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transactions(s) (Instr. 3 and 4)

6.

Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

7.

Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Code

V

Amount

(A) or (D)

Price

Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share

10/24/02

G

V

1,500

D

$30.48

265,100

D

921

I

(1) (2)

1,805,639

I

(3)

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Table II — Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned   (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

1.

Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 3)

2.

Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security

3.

Transaction Date (Month/Day/Year)

3a.

Deemed Execution Date, if any (Month/Day/Year)

4.

Transaction Code (Instr. 8)

5.

Number of Derivative Securities Acquired (A) or Disposed of (D) (Instr. 3, 4 and 5)

Code

V

(A)

(D)

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Table II — Derivative Securities Acquired, Disposed of, or Beneficially Owned — Continued (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)

6.

Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)

7.

Title and Amount of Underlying Securities (Instr. 3 and 4)

8.

Price of Derivative Security (Instr. 5)

9.

Number of Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned Following Reported Transaction(s) (Instr. 4)

10.

Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 4)

11.

Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 4)

Date Exercisable

Expiration Date

Title

Amount or Number of Shares

Explanation of Responses:

(1) By Employee Investment Plan for account of Mr. Young. Number of shares in Mr. Young's 401(k) ABC Stock Fund Account is based on information in the Plan as of 10/23/02.

(2) The reporting person disclaims beneficial ownership of these securities, pursuant to Rule 16a-1(a) (4), and this report shall not be deemed as admission that the reporting person is the beneficial owner of such securities for purposes of Section 16.

(3) Robert A. Young III retains sole voting and investment power of the 1,805,639 shares of Arkansas Best Corporation common stock held in the R.A. Young, III Investments Limited Partnership.

/s/ Robert A. Young III	10/25/02
**Signature of Reporting Person	Date

**	Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note:	File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.

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