0001104659-13-066952.txt : 20130829 0001104659-13-066952.hdr.sgml : 20130829 20130829110558 ACCESSION NUMBER: 0001104659-13-066952 CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE: 8-K PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT: 1 CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20130828 ITEM INFORMATION: Other Events FILED AS OF DATE: 20130829 DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20130829 FILER: COMPANY DATA: COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: ARKANSAS BEST CORP /DE/ CENTRAL INDEX KEY: 0000894405 STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION: TRUCKING (NO LOCAL) [4213] IRS NUMBER: 710673405 STATE OF INCORPORATION: DE FISCAL YEAR END: 1231 FILING VALUES: FORM TYPE: 8-K SEC ACT: 1934 Act SEC FILE NUMBER: 000-19969 FILM NUMBER: 131067780 BUSINESS ADDRESS: STREET 1: 3801 OLD GREENWOOD RD CITY: FORT SMITH STATE: AR ZIP: 72903 BUSINESS PHONE: 5017856000 MAIL ADDRESS: STREET 1: P O BOX 48 CITY: FORT SMITH STATE: AR ZIP: 72902 8-K 1 a13-19916_18k.htm CURRENT REPORT OF MATERIAL EVENTS OR CORPORATE CHANGES

 

 

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): August 29, 2013 (August 28, 2013)

 

ARKANSAS BEST CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

 

0-19969

 

71-0673405

(State or other jurisdiction of

 

(Commission

 

(IRS Employer

incorporation or organization)

 

File Number)

 

Identification No.)

 

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)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions.

 

o            Written communication pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

o            Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

o            Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

o            Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

 

 


 

ITEM 8.01 — OTHER EVENTS

 

Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS) reports that on August 28, 2013, its ABF Freight System, Inc., (“ABF”) employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (“Teamsters”) had ratified five of the seven remaining supplements to the previously approved national collective bargaining agreement for the next five years.

 

Terms of the ABF National Master Freight Agreement, including planned increases to health, welfare and pension benefits will not be implemented until the final supplements covering Central Region Local Cartage and Western Part V Office employees are resolved. ABF and the Teamsters will meet to address these remaining supplemental agreements in the near term.

 

The ABF NMFA, as the new contract is known, was approved by a majority of ABF’s approximately 7,500 Teamster employees in June. The five-year agreement is an important step to return ABF to its historic profitability, while preserving the best-paying jobs and benefits in the freight industry.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

The following is a “safe harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:  Statements contained in this report that are not based on historical facts are “forward-looking statements.” Terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “plan,” “predict,” “prospects,” “scheduled,” “should,” “would,” 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, a workforce stoppage by our employees covered under our collective bargaining agreement or unfavorable terms of future collective bargaining agreements; general economic conditions and related shifts in market demand that impact the performance and needs of industries served by Arkansas Best Corporation’s subsidiaries and/or limit our customers’ access to adequate financial resources; relationships with employees, including unions; union and nonunion employee wages and benefits, including changes in required contributions to multiemployer pension plans; competitive initiatives, pricing pressures, the effect of volatility in fuel prices and the associated changes in fuel surcharges on securing increases in base freight rates and the inability to collect fuel surcharges; availability of fuel; default on covenants of financing arrangements and the availability and terms of future financing arrangements; availability and cost of reliable third-party services; disruptions or failures of services essential to the use of information technology platforms in our business; availability, timing, and amount of capital expenditures; future costs of operating expenses such as fuel and related taxes; self-insurance claims and insurance premium costs; governmental regulations and policies; future climate change legislation; potential impairment of goodwill and intangible assets; the cost, timing, and performance of growth initiatives; the impact of our brand and corporate reputation; the cost, integration, and performance of any future acquisitions; the costs of continuing investments in technology, a failure of our information systems, and the impact of cyber incidents; weather conditions; and other financial, operational, and legal risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in Arkansas Best Corporation’s Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) public filings.

 

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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:

August 29, 2013

 

/s/ Michael R. Johns

 

Michael R. Johns

 

Vice President — General Counsel

 

and Corporate Secretary

 

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