"In the fourth quarter, we remained focused on the initiatives that led to improving financial performance during the year," said Darren Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer. "We executed our yield strategy to improve profitability of the freight moving through our network. In the fourth quarter year-over-year LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 23.3% contributing to an increase in operating revenue of 12.4%. In addition, we took steps to reduce the use of purchased transportation and it was down to 14.5% of revenue in the fourth quarter. Overall, these efforts led to an operating ratio improvement of 310 basis points in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago.

"We also recently completed the conversion of our final operating company to the One Yellow technology platform, as planned and on schedule. This is a significant milestone on the multi-year journey to One Yellow and allows us to continue transforming North America's second largest LTL network. This includes the integration of the linehaul network, to support both regional and long-haul service as well as the optimization of local pickup and delivery operations to eliminate duplicity. When completed, our customers will benefit by interacting with one company for both regional and long-haul shipments leading to improved asset utilization, enhanced network efficiencies and cost savings.

"Yellow concluded one of the largest capital expenditure plans in its history this year that included investments in tractors, trailers, technology, box trucks, containers, liftgates and other assets. The high level of reinvestment began in the fourth quarter 2020 and through the end of 2021 approximately 17% of the tractors and 9% of the trailers in the fleet have been upgraded. The newer tractors will run the highest number of miles in the fleet, fully leveraging the environmental benefits. Compared to the tractors that are being replaced, the newer units are approximately 30% more fuel efficient and that is expected to result in a corresponding reduction in CO₂ emissions. We ended 2021 in a strong liquidity position and in 2022, we expect capital expenditures to be in the range of $325 million to $400 million.

• The operating ratio for fourth quarter 2021 was 95.7 compared to 98.8 in fourth quarter 2020.
  
  
• Including fuel surcharge, fourth quarter 2021 LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 23.3% and LTL revenue per shipment increased 20.3% compared to the same period in 2020. Excluding fuel surcharge, fourth quarter LTL revenue per hundredweight increased 16.2% and LTL revenue per shipment increased 13.4%.
  
  
• Fourth quarter 2021 LTL tonnage per workday decreased 10% when compared to fourth quarter 2020.   
  

• The Company's available liquidity, which is comprised of cash and cash equivalents and Managed Accessibility (as detailed in the supplemental information provided below) under its ABL facility, was $358.8 million as of December 31, 2021, compared to $440.2 million a year ago.
  
  
• The Company's outstanding debt was $1.615 billion as of December 31, 2021, an increase of $330.5 million compared to $1.284 billion as of December 31, 2020.
  
  
• For full year 2021, cash provided by operating activities was $10.2 million compared to $122.5 million in 2020.
  

A live audio webcast of the conference call and presentation slides will be available on Yellow Corporation's website www.myyellow.com. A replay of the webcast will also be available at www.myyellow.com

EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that reflects the company's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization expense. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP measure that reflects EBITDA, and further adjusts for letter of credit fees, equity-based compensation expense, net gains or losses on property disposals, restructuring charges, transaction costs related to issuances of debt, non-recurring consulting fees, non-cash impairment charges and the gains or losses from permitted dispositions, discontinued operations, and certain non-cash expenses, charges and losses (provided that if any of such non-cash expenses, charges or losses represents an accrual or reserve for potential cash items in any future period, the cash payment in respect thereof in such future period will be subtracted from Adjusted EBITDA in such future period to the extent paid). Adjusted EBITDA as used herein is defined as Consolidated EBITDA in our UST Credit Agreements and Term Loan Agreement (collectively, the "TL Agreements"). EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA are used for internal management purposes as a financial measure that reflects the company's core operating performance. In addition, management uses Adjusted EBITDA to measure compliance with financial covenants in our TL Agreements and to determine certain incentive compensation. We believe our presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors and other users as these measures represent key supplemental information our management uses to compare and evaluate our core underlying business results, particularly in light of our leverage position and the capital-intensive nature of our business. Further, EBITDA is a measure that is commonly used by other companies in our industry and provides a comparison for investors to evaluate the performance of the companies in the industry. Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA helps investors to understand how the company is tracking against our financial covenants in our TL Agreements.

• EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or fund principal payments on our outstanding debt;
  
  
• Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or fund principal payments on our outstanding debt, letter of credit expenses, restructuring charges, transaction costs related to debt, non-cash charges, charges or losses (subject to the conditions above), or nonrecurring consulting fees, among other items;
  
  
• Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will have to be replaced in the future and EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA do not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements;
  
  
• Equity-based compensation is an element of our long-term incentive compensation program for certain employees, although Adjusted EBITDA excludes employee equity-based compensation expense when presenting our ongoing operating performance for a particular period; and
  
  
• Other companies in our industry may calculate Adjusted EBITDA differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.
  

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Forward-looking statements include those preceded by, followed by or characterized by words such as "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "believe," "could," "should," "may," "project," "forecast," "propose," "plan," "designed," "estimate," "enable," and similar expressions which speak only as of the date the statement was made. Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, are based upon current beliefs, assumptions and expectations of Company management and current market conditions, and are subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, uncertainties and contingencies, known and unknown, many of which are beyond our control. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Our future financial condition and results could differ materially from those predicted in such forward-looking statements because of a number of business, financial and liquidity, and common stock related factors, including (without limitation) the impact of compliance with Executive Order 14042 and any Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, each as applicable, regarding mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations and testing of non-vaccinated employees, respectively; our ability to attract and retain qualified drivers and increasing costs of driver compensation; the risk of labor disruptions or stoppages, if our relationship with our employees and unions were to deteriorate; general economic factors, including (without limitation) impacts of COVID-19 and customer demand in the retail and manufacturing sectors; the widespread outbreak of an illness or any other communicable disease, including the effects of pandemics comparable to COVID-19, or any other public health crisis, as well as regulatory measures implemented in response to such events; interruptions to our computer and information technology systems and sophisticated cyber-attacks; business risks and increasing costs associated with the transportation industry, including increasing equipment, operational and technology costs and disruption from natural disasters, and impediments to our operations and business resulting from anti-terrorism measures; competition and competitive pressure on pricing; changes in pension expense and funding obligations, subject to interest rate volatility; increasing costs relating to our self-insurance claims expenses; our ability to comply and the cost of compliance with, or liability resulting from violation of, federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations, including (without limitation) labor laws and laws and regulations regarding the environment and climate change initiatives; the impact of claims and litigation expense to which we are or may become exposed; that we may not realize the expected benefits and costs savings from our performance and operational improvement initiatives; a significant privacy breach or IT system disruption; our dependence on key employees; our ability to finance the maintenance, acquisition and replacement of revenue equipment and other necessary capital expenditures; seasonality and the impact of weather; shortages of fuel and changes in the cost of fuel or the index upon which we base our fuel surcharge and the effectiveness of our fuel surcharge program in protecting us against fuel price volatility; risks of operating in foreign countries; our failure to comply with the covenants in the documents governing our existing and future indebtedness; our ability to generate sufficient liquidity to satisfy our indebtedness and cash interest payment obligations, lease obligations and pension funding obligations; fluctuations in the price of our common stock; dilution from future issuances of our common stock; we are not permitted to pay dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future; that we have the ability to issue preferred stock that may adversely affect the rights of holders of our common stock; and other risks and contingencies, including (without limitation) the risk factors that are included in our reports filed with the SEC, including those described under "Risk Factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.

Yellow Corporation has one of the largest, most comprehensive logistics and less-than-truckload (LTL) networks in North America with local, regional, national, and international capabilities. Through its teams of experienced service professionals, Yellow Corporation offers industry-leading expertise in flexible supply chain solutions, ensuring customers can ship industrial, commercial, and retail goods with confidence. Yellow Corporation, whose principal office is in Nashville, Tenn., is the holding company for a portfolio of LTL brands including Holland, New Penn, Reddaway, and YRC Freight, as well as the logistics company Yellow Logistics.