Swift Transportation Co., Inc. Announces First Quarter Expectations and Expansion of Stock Repurchase Program

    PHOENIX--March 27, 2003--Swift Transportation Co., Inc. announced that it anticipates earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2003 will be in the range of $.07 to $.11 per share.
    The Company's average cost per gallon is approximately $0.45 higher in the first quarter of 2003 as compared to the first quarter of 2002. The Company estimates the higher fuel prices, combined with increased operating costs and loss of productivity caused by severe weather will have an $.08 per share impact on net earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2003.
    Furthermore, the Company announced it has repurchased approximately 900,000 shares of its stock in the first quarter of 2003. As previously announced, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of 3,000,000 shares of stock with 1,000,000 shares to be purchased at price levels set by the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has now approved and established the criteria to purchase up to $32 million of the Company's common stock.
    This press release contains statements that may constitute forward-looking statements, usually identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "expects," or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning Swift's projected earnings and financial performance, recent trends in fuel prices, Swift's utilization of its repurchase program and other information. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Swift's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. As to Swift's business and financial performance generally, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements: excess capacity in the trucking industry; significant increases or rapid fluctuations in fuel prices, interest rates, fuel taxes, tolls, license and registration fees, insurance premiums and driver compensation, to the extent not offset by increases in freight rates or fuel surcharges; difficulty in attracting and retaining qualified drivers and owner operators, especially in light of the current shortage of qualified drivers and owner operators; recessionary economic cycles and downturns in customers' business cycles, particularly in market segments and industries (such as retail and manufacturing) in which Swift has a significant concentration of customers; seasonal factors such as harsh weather conditions that increase operating costs; increases in driver compensation to the extent not offset by increases in freight rates; the inability of Swift to continue to secure acceptable financing arrangements; the ability of Swift to continue to identify and combine acquisition candidates that will result in successful combinations; an unanticipated increase in the number of claims for which Swift is self insured; competition from trucking, rail and intermodal competitors; and a significant reduction in or termination of Swift's trucking services by a key customer.
    A discussion of these and other factors that could cause Swift's results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K of Swift, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available at the Securities and Exchange Commission's internet site (http://www.sec.gov). Swift undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Further, nothing herein shall constitute an adoption or approval of any analyst report regarding Swift, nor any undertaking to update or comment upon analysts' expectations in the future.
    Swift is the holding company for Swift Transportation Co., Inc., a truckload carrier headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Swift is the largest publicly held national truckload carrier in the United States with regional operations throughout the continental United States.