Knight Transportation Announces the Opening of Its 23rd Service Center and Quarterly Dividend

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 2005--Knight Transportation Inc. (NYSE: KNX) announced the official opening of its 23rd service center in Reno, Nev., and the declaration of a $.02 quarterly dividend. The Reno service center is the third new dry van service center opened by Knight Transportation in 2005. Chairman and CEO Kevin Knight had the following comments:

"We plan to initiate operations on October 1 at our Reno service center. With the opening in Reno we look forward to continuing to build our brand as the premier national carrier providing local service to the markets we serve. With the openings of Chicago (March 2005); El Paso, Texas (June 2005); Knight Brokerage, LLC (July 2005); the acquisition of Edward Bros. into Knight Refrigerated (August 2005); and the opening of Knight Transportation Reno, Nev. (October 2005), we will have opened and integrated five new service centers this year. We have an excellent team in place and look forward to developing the northern Nevada market."

Knight Transportation also announced today that its board of directors has declared the company's quarterly cash dividend of $0.02 per share of common stock. This is the fourth quarterly dividend initiated pursuant to a cash dividend policy approved by the board of directors, which anticipates a total annual dividend of $0.08 per share of common stock, payable in quarterly increments of $0.02 per share of common stock. The actual declaration of future cash dividends, and the establishment of record and payment dates, is subject to final determination by the board of directors each quarter after its review of the company's financial performance.

The company's fourth cash dividend is payable to shareholders of record on Sept. 30, 2005, and is expected to be paid on Oct. 18, 2005.

Knight Transportation Inc. is a short to medium haul, truckload carrier headquartered in Phoenix. The company serves most of the United States through its regional operations in Phoenix; Salt Lake City; Tulare, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Indianapolis; Katy, Texas; Gulfport, Miss.; Charlotte, N.C.; Memphis, Tenn.; Kansas City, Kan.; Atlanta; Denver; Las Vegas; Carlisle, Pa.; Lakeland, Fla.; Chicago; El Paso, Texas; and Idaho Falls, Idaho. The company transports general commodities, including consumer goods, packaged foodstuffs, paper products, beverage containers, imported and exported commodities, and refrigerated goods.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, assumptions, and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Statements that constitute forward-looking statements are usually identified by words such as "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "projects," "expects," "plans," "intends," or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements: the risks inherent in entering a new regional market, including but not limited to unfamiliarity with pricing and operational issues; the risk that customer relationships may be difficult to obtain or that we may have to reduce rates to gain customer relationships in the new region; and the risks and uncertainties identified from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.