MIAMI, June 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE: R), a global leader in supply chain, warehousing and transportation management solutions, today announced it received the 2005 Golden Link Award for its outstanding service as a top supplier of Lucent Technologies' Supply Chain Networks organization.

"We'd like to acknowledge our strategic partnership with the Ryder team," said Mike Jones, Vice President of Lucent's Supply Chain Network. "Together we are enabling improved delivery processes and greater supply chain flexibility. This could not have been accomplished without the direct involvement of the Ryder leadership team in many of our logistic processes."

The Golden Link Award, created in 2001, acknowledges suppliers who provide superior service and make significant contributions in key areas including delivery, technology, value, quality and overall relationship. Ryder received this award for its quality customer service and innovative solutions that continue to drive efficiencies and position Lucent's Supply Chain Networks as a top-notch supplier organization. This is the fourth time Ryder has been a recipient of this award.

"Ryder is highly honored to once again receive this award from Lucent," said Vicki O'Meara, President of U.S. Supply Chain Solutions for Ryder. "Lucent is recognized globally for its commitment to innovation and quality, and Ryder is proud to contribute to their success."

Lucent's Supply Chain Networks manages the full range of activities involved in delivering products and services customers expect from Lucent. This includes order fulfillment, procurement, distribution, new product introduction, manufacturing and supplier management. Ryder has been a Lucent logistics service provider for nearly six years. Working with its partners, Ryder developed an outbound logistics network that streamlines the logistics link from the suppliers and manufacturers to the customer job site, thus reducing cycle times and cost. Ryder currently serves as the lead logistics provider for Lucent in the Americas.

About Supply Chain Networks

Lucent's Supply Chain Networks (SCN) group oversees the end-to-end provisioning of Lucent solutions to its global customer base. SCN is responsible for the management and oversight of supplier and supply chain engineering and management, product engineering, test and component engineering, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and distribution, as well as the company's outsourcing and contract manufacturing efforts.

About Lucent Technologies

Lucent Technologies designs and delivers the systems, services and software that drive next-generation communications networks. Backed by Bell Labs research and development, Lucent uses its strengths in mobility, optical, software, data and voice networking technologies, as well as services, to create new revenue-generating opportunities for its customers, while enabling them to quickly deploy and better manage their networks. Lucent's customer base includes communications service providers, governments and enterprises worldwide. For more information on Lucent Technologies, which has headquarters in Murray Hill, N.J., USA, visit www.lucent.com .

About Ryder

Ryder is a Fortune 500 company providing leading-edge transportation, logistics and supply chain management solutions worldwide. Ryder's stock (NYSE: R) is a component of the Dow Jones Transportation Average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. For more information about Ryder System, Inc., visit www.ryder.com .

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements and information included in this press release are "forward-looking statements" under the Federal Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties inherent in our business that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause such differences include, among others, our ability to obtain adequate profit margins for our services, our inability to maintain current pricing levels due to customer acceptance or competition, customer retention levels, unexpected volume declines, loss of key customers in the Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) business segment, our failure to successfully implement new growth initiatives in our FMS business segment, unexpected reserves or write-offs due to the deterioration of the credit worthiness or bankruptcy of certain customers in our SCS business segment, changes in financial, tax or regulatory requirements or changes in customers' business environments that will limit their ability to commit to long-term vehicle leases, changes in market conditions affecting the commercial rental market or the sale of used vehicles, labor strikes or work stoppages affecting our or our customers' business operations, adequacy of accounting estimates and accruals, changes in general economic conditions, sudden changes in fuel prices, availability of qualified drivers, our ability to manage our cost structure, changes in government regulations including regulations regarding vehicle emissions and the risks described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The risks included here are not exhaustive. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risks on our business. Accordingly, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

SOURCE Ryder System, Inc.

CONTACT: Edward Rifenburg, +1-305-500-4161, or Edward_Rifenburg@Ryder.com, or Lisa Brumfield, +1-305-500-3668, or Lisa_Brumfield@Ryder.com, both of Ryder System, Inc.