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): October 8, 2013 (October 8, 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.

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

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

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

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

ITEM 7.01 — REGULATION FD DISCLOSURE

ABF Freight System, Inc. (“ABF”), the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (Nasdaq: ABFS), is providing an update on the most recent information related to ABF’s contract with the Teamsters (“IBT”). A copy of the update is furnished as an exhibit to this Report on Form 8-K.

ITEM 9.01 — FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS

(d)Exhibits.

99.1Update from ABF Freight System, Inc., dated October 8, 2013

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,” “could,” “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; relationships with employees, including unions; 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; union and nonunion employee wages and benefits, including changes in required contributions to multiemployer pension plans; competitive initiatives, pricing pressures, and 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 impact of our brand and corporate reputation; the cost, timing, and performance of growth initiatives; 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 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:	October 8, 2013	/s/ Michael R. Johns
		Michael R. Johns
		Vice President — General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

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EX-99.1

Exhibit 99.1

October 8, 2013

ABF has been notified by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters that ballots to authorize a strike will be mailed on Tuesday, October 8, 2013, only to employees covered by the Central Region Local Cartage supplement. Votes will be counted on October 29. The Central Region Local Cartage supplement is one of 27 supplements to the ABF National Master Freight Agreement.

Following many months of discussion and complex negotiations between the two parties, a five-year contract agreement was reached and ratified in June by the majority of ABF Teamster employees who recognized the need for the company to lower its costs and become more competitive in a demanding marketplace.  Since then, 25 of the 27 supplemental agreements have also been ratified. The two that remain are Western Office Part 5 and Central Region Local Cartage.

Concerns in the Western Office area have been addressed and ABF is hopeful that ratification will occur in the short term following minor, non-economic modifications to that supplement.

For Central Region Local Cartage employees, ABF has provided its last, best and final offer. In such situations, the Teamsters constitution provides for a process in which its national negotiating committee conducts a strike authorization vote in the affected supplemental area only in order to establish whether the committee has the authority to conduct a strike.

ABF is encouraging employees covered by the Central Region Local Cartage supplement to vote “No” to the strike authorization and to let their voices be heard by making sure they exercise their right to cast a ballot. ABF is aware that the Teamsters have also encouraged its Central Region Local Cartage members to vote “No” to a strike in a letter they mailed to employees.

In the event that a strike is nonetheless authorized by employees in Central Region Local Cartage and directed by the committee, there can be no strike before October 29 which is the end of the expiration of the current contract extension.  ABF is preparing for this outcome and will work to ensure that all customer requirements are met. In the interim, it remains business as usual at ABF.