CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS OBTAINS FUNDING FOR TURNAROUND PLAN

CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS OBTAINS FUNDING FOR TURNAROUND PLAN    Consolidated Freightways Corp., the Vancouver, Wash.-based transportation company, said Wednesday it has obtained financing to move forward with a turnaround plan following growing losses.
The financing plan comprises $45 million in real estate-backed loans, of which $20 million has been funded to date. In addition, GE Capital has converted its existing six-month bridge financing to a 24-month $42-million real estate-backed facility. A portion of the company's unencumbered real estate assets secures both loans. GE Capital's real estate facility supplements CF's existing $200-million, five-year credit facility with GE, which is secured by the company's accounts receivable.
   CF reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $37.5 million on revenue of $500.8 million, compared to a net loss in the fourth quarter of 2000 of $7.6 million, on revenue of $579.7 million.
Pat Blake, CF's chief executive officer, said the company stepped up efforts in the fourth quarter to 'improve yields on existing business while cutting costs and increasing efficiencies through process improvements' at 20 of CF's larger locations. That plan is being expanded to include CF's top 60 locations in 2002.
   'We began to see yield improvement trends build in the fourth quarter from these efforts, and we are confident about our continued progress over the course of 2002,' Blake said.
   For 2001, CF saw a net loss of $104.3 million on revenue of $2.2 billion, compared to $6.0 million in 2000, on revenue of $2.4 billion.
   CF comprises national less-than-truckload carrier Consolidated Freightways; third-party logistics provider Redwood Systems; Canadian Freightways LTD; Transportes CF Alfri-Loder, the company's joint venture in Mexico; and CF AirFreight, an air-freight forwarder.