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          CONSOLIDATED FREIGHTWAYS FILES CHAPTER 11

          COMPANY TAKES STEPS TO ENSURE COMPLETION
                  OF IN-TRANSIT DELIVERIES

               REPORTS SECOND QUARTER RESULTS


     VANCOUVER, Washington - September 3, 2002 -
Consolidated Freightways Corp. (CFC) (NASDAQ: CFWYE) today
filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy petitions with the United States
Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
     The company also said one of its immediate goals is to
complete in-transit customer deliveries as quickly as
possible.
     The company yesterday ceased most U.S. operations.
However, the CF AirFreight, Canadian Freightways, Ltd. and
Grupo Consolidated Freightways, S.A. de RL subsidiaries
continue to operate as usual.
     The company said it had received commitments for $225
million in debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from General
Electric Capital Corporation (GECC) to provide liquidity
during the bankruptcy proceedings. Pending Court approval,
the DIP facility will replace an accounts receivable
securitization agreement and real estate credit facility
previously provided by GECC.  After outstanding borrowings
and letters of credit under these agreements are rolled over
into the DIP facility, approximately $40 million of new
financing will be available to the company to proceed with
an orderly liquidation.

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                             -2-
     The company also filed its Form 10-Q and announced its
financial results for the period ended June 30, 2002.  At
the same time, company officers certified as to the accuracy
of the financial information contained in the Form 10-Q, in
compliance with SEC requirements.
     The company reported revenues of $482.4 million and an
operating loss of $53.9 million, after a write-off of
approximately $11.0 million of internal-use software that
the company will not use due to its bankruptcy filing. These
results follow the previous quarter's operating loss of
$30.9 million on revenues of $463.0 million.
     Since the company is no longer considered a going
concern, CFC also recorded an additional $62.6 million in
valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets, which
constituted more than half the quarter's net loss of $123.2
million.
     In its Form 10-Q report filed today with the Securities
and Exchange Commission, CFC said the bankruptcy petition is
necessary because of substantial operating losses in the
prior 18 months and the resulting impact on liquidity,
letter-of-credit and surety bond requirements to support the
company's self-administered insurance programs.
     According to the company, a number of recent events
created a domino effect that left CFC inadequately
capitalized to continue operations.  Last month, a surety
bond that secured the company's workers compensation and
vehicular casualty insurance was cancelled, leading the
company to believe that additional bonds would also be
cancelled.   This negatively impacted pending discussions
with all lenders and investors.  Ultimately, the company was
unable to secure financing and to bridge the surety bond
gap.
     Faced with continuing losses and without the ability to
obtain additional financing, CFC's board of directors
reluctantly concluded that the company could not continue to
operate outside of Chapter 11 protection.
     In its Form 10-Q report, the company reported assets of
approximately $783.6 million and liabilities of
approximately $791.6 million.
     The law firm of Latham & Watkins in Los Angeles acts as
legal counsel for the company in its bankruptcy proceedings.
                           -more-

                             -3-
     Consolidated Freightways was founded in Portland, Ore.
in 1929.  The company provides less-than-truckload (LTL)
transportation, airfreight forwarding and supply chain
management services throughout North America.  The company
is headquartered in Vancouver, Wash.
     Certain statements in this press release are forward-
looking statements that are subject to material risks and
uncertainties. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-
looking statements are not guarantees of future performance
or results and involve risks and uncertainties, and that
actual results or developments may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements
as a result of various factors that are discussed in the
company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, uncertainties relating to general economic
and business conditions, the availability and cost of
capital and matters relating to or in connection with the
bankruptcy filing of the company and some of its
subsidiaries.  These risks and uncertainties also include
matters arising out of the company's delay in filing with
the Securities and Exchange Commission its Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended June 30, 2002 and the announced delisting of
the company's common stock by Nasdaq.  Additional
information regarding risks, uncertainties and other factors
that may affect the business and financial results of the
company can be found in the company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.  The company does not
undertake to update any forward-looking statements in this
press release or with respect to matters described herein.