David Humphrey - Vice President of Investor Relations Judy McReynolds - Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer David Cobb - Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the ArcBest Third Quarter 2017 Earnings Conference Call [Operator Instructions]. As a remainder, this conference is being recorded Friday, November 3, 2017. I will now turn the conference over to David Humphrey, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, sir.

Welcome to ArcBest third quarter 2017 earnings conference call. Our presentation this morning will be done by Ms. Judy McReynolds, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ArcBest; Mr. David Cobb, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer of ArcBest. As most of you know, we're approaching the end of ABF freight’s current labor contract with the Teamsters, which expires on March 31, 2018. The exchange of initial proposals on the next contract between the bargaining committees is anticipated to occur in the coming months. Out of respect for this important process, we will give you an update on third quarter results during today's call but not take any questions following our prepared commentary. We hope you can understand our reasons for doing things a little differently, while this process takes places. As always, following today's call, we will be available to speak with you to discuss the publically disclosed information about our third quarter results. We thank you for joining us today. In order to help you better understand ArcBest and its results, some forward-looking statements could be made during this call. As we all know, forward-looking statements, by their very nature, are subject to uncertainties and risk. For a more complete discussion of factors that could affect the Company's future results, please refer to the forward-looking statements section of the Company's earnings press release and the Company's most recent SEC public filings. In order to provide meaningful comparisons, certain information discussed in this conference call includes non-GAAP financial measures as outlined and described in the tables of our earnings press release. We will now begin with Ms. McReynolds.

Thank you, David. And good morning, everyone. We were pleased to report improved third quarter results. With the exception of weather related impacts from the various hurricanes in the quarter, a number of favorable tailwinds helped us achieve revenue and profitability growth. An improving pricing environment and tighter capacity conditions more positive developments and the momentum we're seeing on those fronts is encouraging. In addition, our enhanced market approach implemented at the beginning of the year, also contributed to the success that we're seeing with customers. For some time now, you've been hearing me describe our strategy to capture more of the total logistics market opportunity through the unique and reliable capacity options and a best-in-class customer experience. Our continued emphasis on getting in front of customers with more options to help solve their complex logistics challenges is providing growth opportunities that were previously unavailable. In meetings with customers seeking supply chain solutions, we are confidently able to discuss the full range of available services at our best, which helps us solidify and expand these relationships. As someone who has participated in a number of these discussions, I'm confident in saying there is intangible change in how we approach the customer and excitement around the trusted advice we provide. Our sales organization is energized by the unified engagements and enhanced collaborations that have been established across our best. We've also made good progress so far to achieve greater profitability on our asset base shipping accounts. And now I'll discuss more details about out service offerings. Despite reduced shipment and tonnage totals, third quarter revenue for ArcBest asset based LTL service improved versus last year as our emphasis on yield management initiatives contributed to greater revenue per 100 weight and higher average revenue per shipment. In addition, our pricing actions have…

Thank you, Judy and good morning everyone. Let me begin with some consolidated information. Third quarter 2017 consolidated revenues were $744 million compared to $714 million in last year's third quarter, an increase of 4.2%. On a GAAP basis, we had third quarter 2017 net income of $0.56 per diluted share compared to net income of $0.49 per diluted share last year. As detailed in the non-GAAP reconciliation table in this morning's earnings press release, adjusted third quarter 2017 net income was $0.59 per diluted share compared to $0.48 in the same period of 2016. The adjustments taken in third quarter 2017 included $0.02 per share after tax related to our enhanced market approach that was implemented beginning in January. Through the remainder of the year, we currently expect to incur approximately $500,000 of additional restructuring cost related to our corporate reorganization. Our non-union pension plan was closed to due participants in 2006 and in 2013 the accrual of future benefits was frozen. The ArcBest Board of Directors recently approved an action to terminate the plan based on information provided by the claims actuary, we estimate cash funding of approximately $10 million and settlement charges of approximately $20 million during 2018. Although, there can be no assurances in this regard. The actual charge and funding in now is dependent on a number of factors, including final benefit calculations, interest rates and the value of planned assets among the others. Our non-GAAP net income in third quarter 2017 including an adjustment of $2 million pre-tax or $0.05 per share after-tax for our non union pension plan including settlement expanse. As we move to close out this frozen plan, pension costs have increased due to lower asset returns because of the more conservative investment strategy. Pension expanse, including settlement charges for fourth…

As I said earlier, favorable tailwinds impacted the quarter positively. We are encouraged about the momentum we're seeing in terms of the economy overall, the general industry environment and our approach to the market. The unique and reliable capacity options that we have readily available are very important to our customers as they look for logistics partner who can deliver an array of choices and solutions along with trusted expert advice and a great experience. The enhanced market approach implemented in January and now fully operational helped us streamline costs and also provides that unified foundation I discussed earlier for our people to expand existing relationships, create new ones and win more business. Finally, here are some additional highlights for the quarter, which I believe underscores the tremendous commitment of our employees to demonstrate the skill and the will. In August, ArcBest received four 2017 Quest for Quality Awards from Logistics Management magazine, an honor that those in transportation and logistics industry regard as an important measure of customer satisfaction and performance excellence. ABF freight received two Quest for Quality Awards in the national LTL and expedited categories. Panther was recognized in the expedited category and UPAC was honored in the household goods and high-value goods category. Also in August, 11 ABF drivers qualified for the national truck driving championship, and one Tony Spiro, play third in his class at the national competition. We are very proud of Tony and his outstanding accomplishment, as well as all of our other qualifiers. In July, ArcBest was ranked as number 43 on the 2017 top 50 3PLS, a list generated by Armstrong and Associates. And also in July, ABF freight was included on supply chain grains and a lift of 100 great supply chain partners. And now, I'll it back o David for final comments. Thank you.

We thank you for joining us this morning, and we appreciate your interest in ArcBest. That now concludes our call. Thank you.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your lines. Have a great day. End of Q&A: