CNF Inc. Updates Third-Quarter Earnings Guidance.

Business Editors

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2001

CNF Inc. (NYSE:CNF) announced today that it expects to report a loss estimated to be in the range of $0.15 to $0.20 per share for its third quarter of 2001, including a previously announced charge at Menlo Logistics from the business failure of a major customer.

Emery Worldwide is expected to report a larger loss in the third quarter than originally anticipated. The increased loss is due to significantly lower freight volumes experienced during the quarter compared to the prior year, the approximately $16 million net cost of providing a substitute fleet of aircraft following an interim agreement between Emery Worldwide Airlines and the FAA, the cost of addressing the FAA's issues with the airline, and the lost revenue from last week's grounding of all commercial airline flights in the U.S. following the terrorist attacks on the East Coast.

Con-Way Transportation Services is expected to have a decline in operating income in the range of 23 percent to 27 percent in the third quarter compared with a year ago, excluding the loss on the sale of its truckload operations in last year's quarter. Tonnage at Con-Way is expected to be lower than last year's third quarter by approximately 2 percent to 4 percent.

Menlo Logistics is expected to have operating income that is 5 percent to 10 percent lower than the third quarter of 2000, excluding the previously announced loss of approximately $6.3 million in the third quarter from the business failure of customer HomeLife.

CNF expects to announce its third-quarter results on October 17.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, and should not be relied upon as predictions of future events. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements including any projections and objectives of management for future operations, any statements concerning proposed new products or services, any statements regarding future economic conditions or performance, statements of belief and any statements or assumptions underlying the foregoing. Specific factors that could cause actual earnings, results of operations and other matters to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements include: changes in general business and economic conditions, the creditworthiness of the Company's customers and their ability to pay for services rendered, increasing competition and pricing pressure, changes in fuel prices, the suspension of the operations of Emery Worldwide Airlines' (EWA) fleet of aircraft, uncertainties regarding EWA's claims under its former Priority Mail contract with the United States Postal Service (USPS), uncertainties regarding EWA's former Express Mail contract with the USPS, labor matters, enforcement of and changes in governmental regulations, environmental and tax matters (including claims made by the Internal Revenue Service with respect to aircraft maintenance tax matters), the Department of Transportation investigation relating to Emery Worldwide's handling of hazardous materials and aircraft maintenance, the February 2000 crash of an EWA aircraft and related litigation, matters relating to the company's 1996 spin-off of Consolidated Freightways Corporation. The factors included here and in Item 7 of our 2000 Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results and other matters to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. As a result, no assurance can be given as to future financial position or results of operations.

CNF is a $6-billion management company of global supply chain services with businesses in regional trucking, air freight, ocean freight, customs brokerage, global logistics management and trailer manufacturing.