ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION

ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION

NOTE A — ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT PRESENTATION

Arkansas Best Corporation (the “Company”), the parent holding company, is a freight transportation services and solutions provider with four reportable operating segments. The Company’s principal operations are conducted through its Freight Transportation segment, which consists of ABF Freight System, Inc. and other subsidiaries of the Company that are engaged in motor carrier freight transportation (collectively “ABF”). The Company’s other reportable operating segments are Truck Brokerage and Management, Emergency and Preventative Maintenance, and Special Services Logistics (see Note I).

ABF represented 91% of the Company’s revenues for first quarter 2012. As of March 2012, approximately 75% of ABF’s employees are covered under a five-year collective bargaining agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“IBT”). The agreement with the IBT, which became effective April 1, 2008, provides for compounded annual contractual wage and benefit increases of approximately 3% to 4%, subject to additional increases for cost-of-living adjustments.

The Company acquired a 75% equity interest in a logistics company included in the Special Services Logistics segment in the second quarter of 2009 and acquired the remaining 25% equity interest in the third quarter of 2011. The noncontrolling interest in net income of the subsidiary was presented on a separate line in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2011.

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) pertaining to interim financial information. Accordingly, these interim financial statements do not include all information or footnote disclosures required by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for complete financial statements and, therefore, should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K and other current filings with the Commission. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (which are of a normal and recurring nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included.

Preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosed amounts of contingent liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses. If the underlying estimates and assumptions upon which the financial statements and accompanying notes are based change in future periods, actual amounts may differ from those included in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.