ACQUISITION (Details) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 15, 2012
ACQUISITION
Cash purchase price, net of cash acquired				$ 180,793,000
Secured term loan
ACQUISITION
Debt instruments issued for funding the acquisition						100,000,000
Panther Expedited Services, Inc.
ACQUISITION
Business acquisition, acquired percentage						100.00%
Cash purchase price, net of cash acquired	180,800,000
Fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed
Accounts receivable						31,764,000
Prepaid expenses						5,819,000
Deferred income taxes						573,000
Property and equipment (excluding acquired software)						7,450,000
Software						32,400,000
Intangible assets						68,600,000
Other assets						4,295,000
Total identifiable assets acquired						150,901,000
Accounts payable						12,265,000
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities						4,571,000
Deferred income taxes						32,216,000
Total liabilities						49,052,000
Net identifiable assets acquired						101,849,000
Goodwill						78,944,000
Cash paid, net of cash acquired						180,793,000
Accounts receivable, fair value						31,800,000
Accounts receivable, gross contractual amount						32,200,000
Accounts receivable, uncollectable						400,000
Acquisition related costs		2,100,000
Revenue and earnings of Panther included in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations
Revenue				10,800,000
Net Income				200,000
Pro forma consolidated statement of operations
Revenue		563,889,000	559,389,000	1,056,486,000	1,050,518,000
Income (loss) before income taxes		9,494,000	10,773,000	(13,001,000)	(7,299,000)
Net income attributable to Arkansas Best Corporation		5,839,000	6,689,000	(7,657,000)	(4,771,000)
Diluted EPS (in dollars per share)		$ 0.22	$ 0.25	$ (0.30)	$ (0.19)
Panther Expedited Services, Inc. | Software
Fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed
Amortization period (in years)				7
Panther Expedited Services, Inc. | Secured term loan
ACQUISITION
Debt instruments issued for funding the acquisition						$ 100,000,000