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Spartan Motors Revises Expectations for Third Quarter

7 October 1999

Spartan Motors Revises Expectations for Third Quarter, Year-End Due to Carpenter Bus Unit

    CHARLOTTE, Mich., Oct. 7 -- Spartan Motors, Inc.
said it expects to report lower than expected net earnings for
the third and fourth quarters of 1999, due to continuing losses at its
Carpenter Industries school bus subsidiary.
    The Charlotte, Mich.-based manufacturer of custom chassis said it expects
Carpenter to contribute a loss of $0.20 per share to Spartan Motors'
consolidated results for the second six months of 1999.  As a result, Spartan
anticipates it will post net earnings per share in the range of $0.07 to $0.10
in both the third and fourth quarters inclusive of the expected losses at
Carpenter.
    "While the delay in achieving profitability at Carpenter is extremely
disappointing, one has to consider how far the company has come in the last
three years," said George Sztykiel, Spartan Motors Chief Executive Officer and
Chairman of the Board.  "In 1997, Carpenter lost $38 million.  Spartan pressed
for a management reorganization and in the fall of 1998 took over majority
control of the Company following a four-month plant shut down.  Carpenter's
loss was reduced to $20.5 million in 1998, and Spartan Motors placed its
emphasis on drastically downsizing Carpenter's operations."
    Sztykiel continued: "We felt that Carpenter would continue losing money
for the first six months of 1999 then turn profitable and break even for the
year.  However, we underestimated the damage that the plant shutdown caused to
our customer and dealer relationships.  Many customers and dealers lost faith
in Carpenter, and as a result, backlog decreased, forcing us to trim
production rates.  Carpenter dealers are indicating that order intake is about
to start improving.  In addition, Carpenter just introduced a new improved
school bus body and will launch a new rear engine bus model on a Spartan
chassis later this fall.  All of these efforts will enhance Carpenter's image
and help them once again rebuild enthusiasm in the marketplace.
    "The 1999 loss at Carpenter will be approximately $5 million, which is a
hard blow, but a vast improvement from years past.  We continue to see profit
potential at Carpenter and are driven to achieve it."
    Spartan Motors, Inc. (http://www.spartanmotors.com) is a leading manufacturer of
custom-built chassis for RVs, fire trucks, transit buses, school buses and
other specialty vehicles.  Spartan owns three companies that manufacture
emergency vehicles -- Luverne Fire Apparatus, Quality Manufacturing and Road
Rescue -- and a majority stake in school bus manufacturer Carpenter
Industries, Inc.
    The statements contained in this news release include certain predictions
and projections that may be considered forward-looking statements by the
securities laws.  These statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties, including but not limited to economic, competitive,
governmental and technological factors affecting the Company's operations,
markets, products, services and prices, and actual results may differ
materially.