8-K

                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

                           Washington, D.C. 20549-1004

                                    FORM 8-K
                                 CURRENT REPORT


     PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

       Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 2, 2003
                               (December 2, 2003)



                            ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION
             ------------------------------------------------------
             (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)


     Delaware                      0-19969                      71-0673405
- -------------------            ---------------            --------------------
 (State or other                 (Commission                  (IRS Employer
 jurisdiction of                 File Number)              Identification No.)
incorporation or
 organization)


                             3801 Old Greenwood Road
                           Fort Smith, Arkansas 72903
                                 (479) 785-6000
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   (Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of
                 the registrant's principal executive offices)










ITEM 7. EXHIBITS.

99.1     Press release of Arkansas Best Corporation dated December 2, 2003.

ITEM 9. REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE.

Arkansas Best Corporation ("the Company") issued a press release dated December
2, 2003 announcing that its subsidiary, Clipper Exxpress Company has reached an
agreement to sell all customer and vendor lists related to Clipper's LTL freight
business to Hercules Forwarding Inc. of Vernon, California for $2.6 million in
cash. A copy of the press release is attached as an exhibit to this Report on
Form 8-K.






                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned hereunto duly authorized.


                            ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION

                                  (Registrant)


Date: December 2, 2003                  /s/ David E. Loeffler
     -------------------                ----------------------------------------
                                        David E. Loeffler,
                                        Vice President- Chief Financial Officer
                                          and Treasurer

EX-99.1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1


                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                            ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION
                              ANNOUNCES THE SALE OF
                         CLIPPER EXXPRESS' LTL DIVISION


         (Fort Smith, Arkansas, December 2, 2003) -- Arkansas Best Corporation
(Nasdaq: ABFS) announced today that its subsidiary, Clipper Exxpress Company has
reached an agreement to sell all customer and vendor lists related to Clipper's
LTL freight business to Hercules Forwarding Inc. of Vernon, California for $2.6
million in cash. The planned closing date for this transaction is December 31,
2003. Through the first nine months of 2003, the revenues generated by Clipper's
LTL division were $26.7 million.

         Certain details related to the sale and costs associated with Clipper's
departure from the LTL business will be finalized at or near closing. As a
result, the final earnings impact of this transaction has not been determined.
However, the impact is not expected to be material.

         Upon the completion of the sale, Arkansas Best will continue to own
Clipper Exxpress and Clipper Controlled Logistics which will maintain their
businesses in the full load intermodal, brokerage and temperature-controlled
segments. Through the first nine months of 2003, the revenues generated by
Clipper's remaining businesses were $68.8 million.

         Arkansas Best Corporation, headquartered in Fort Smith, AR, is a
diversified transportation holding company with two primary operating
subsidiaries. ABF Freight System, Inc., in continuous service since 1923,
provides national transportation of LTL general commodities throughout North
America. Clipper is an intermodal marketing company that provides domestic
freight services, utilizing rail and over-the-road transportation.






         THE FOLLOWING IS A "SAFE HARBOR" STATEMENT UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES
LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995: Statements contained in this press release that
are not based on historical facts are "forward-looking statements." Terms such
as "estimate," "forecast," "expect," "predict," "plan," "anticipate," "believe,"
"intend," "should," "would," "scheduled," and similar expressions and the
negatives of such terms are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Such statements are by their nature subject to uncertainties and risk,
including, but not limited to, union relations; availability and cost of
capital; shifts in market demand; weather conditions; the performance and needs
of industries served by Arkansas Best's subsidiaries; actual future costs of
operating expenses such as fuel and related taxes; self-insurance claims and
employee wages and benefits; actual costs of continuing investments in
technology; the timing and amount of capital expenditures; competitive
initiatives and pricing pressures; general economic conditions; and other
financial, operational and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to
time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") public filings.


         Contact: Mr. David E. Loeffler, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
and Treasurer

           Telephone: (479) 785-6157

           Mr. David Humphrey, Director of Investor Relations

           Telephone: (479) 785-6200


                                 END OF RELEASE