American Freightways Corp., Harrison, AR, reported big jumps in revenue and earnings for the fourth quarter and all of last year.

For the quarter, operating revenue was nearly $306.5 million, up 20.1 percent from nearly $255.2 million for the same period in 1998. Operating income was nearly $27.3 million, up 53 percent from $17.8 million for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1998.
For the year ended Dec. 31, 1999, operating revenue was nearly $1.17 billion, up 18.3 percent from $986.3 million. Operating income was nearly $94.4 million, up 56.7 percent from 1998 operating income of $60.2 million.
Management attributes the improved earnings — which occurred throughout the year — to service and productivity improvements and strong demand for less-than-truckload service that resulted in favorable pricing.
The company reported strong customer acceptance of American Flyer, its new standard service that provides next-day deliveries of as much as 600 miles and second-day deliveries of as much as 1,500 miles.