JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Oct 13, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Landstar System, Inc. (Nasdaq: LSTR), a safety-first non-asset-based provider of transportation capacity, is among the top 10 transportation and logistics companies ranked in a customer respect study. According to The Customer Respect Group, an international research and consulting firm, the study is designed to objectively measure performance from an online customer's perspective.

"Customer service is one of Landstar's core values," said Landstar President and CEO Henry Gerkens. "It's nice to be recognized for meeting our goal through advanced technology."

The group says its Customer Respect Index rating for each company is on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the highest achievable score. According to The Customer Respect Group, the index is a qualitative and quantitative in-depth analysis and independent measure of a custom's online experience when interacting with companies via the Internet. Criteria include Simplicity or ease of site navigation; Responsiveness or quickness and thoroughness of responses to inquiries; Customer Privacy; Attitude or the customer-focus of the site; Transparency or the openness and honesty of company policies; and Principals or the values and respect given to customer data.

According to the group's report, a much-improved privacy policy helped Landstar to climb to a top 10 position in the table. Six companies in the transportation and logistics division failed to provide a privacy policy, despite the Online Privacy Protection Act of 2003, and the group notes that it is probably no coincidence that four of these six companies occupy the bottom places of the overall Customer Respect Index and all scored poorly in Responsiveness.

"We've always had a privacy policy in place," said Landstar Chief Information Officer Larry Thomas. "But we've beefed it up to better protect our users. These days, with both spam and identification theft at an all-time high, it's important to have in place and to enforce privacy policies and standards that protect our business and our customers."

"If a company expects consumers and businesses to spend time at its Web site, make purchases, and visit the site again, it must build trust," said Terry Golesworthy, president of The Customer Respect Group, in a press release announcing the report's results. "This is equally important for companies that do not transact commercial business online, as more and more consumers are turning to the Internet to research products and services before buying them offline. Based on our findings, transportation and logistics firms that use best practices to improve their Web sites will see a dramatic return on their investments."

Landstar System, Inc. delivers safe, specialized transportation services to a broad range of customers throughout North America. The company identifies and fulfills shippers' needs through the coordination of individual businesses comprised of independent sales agents and third-party transportation capacity providers. Landstar's carrier group, which is comprised of Landstar Gemini, Inc., Landstar Inway, Inc., Landstar Ligon, Inc., Landstar Ranger, Inc. and Landstar Carrier Services, Inc., delivers excellence in complete over-the-road transportation services. Landstar's multimodal group, which is comprised of Landstar Express America, Inc. and Landstar Logistics, Inc., provides expedited, contract logistics and intermodal transportation services. All Landstar operating companies are certified to ISO 9001:2000 quality management system standards. Landstar System, Inc.'s common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market(R) under the symbol LSTR.

SOURCE Landstar System, Inc.