The AMR Corporate Reputation Index was dominated by electronics retailers, airlines and car companies when it was released this week.

JB Hi-Fi, Nestle and Toyota - in other words, flatscreen TVs, chocolate and four-wheel drives - are the top three most trusted companies in the nation.

AMR chose the 60 biggest companies that were national and had some sort of customer service operation from BRW magazine's list of 1000 richest companies.

It polled more than 5000 people in cities and regional Australia to find out what they thought of the enterprises.

The wheat marketer AWB Ltd came in 60th place, one position on the list worse than last year, while a number of other companies often verbally bashed in the media and at Australian social gatherings helped round out the field.

These including Telstra (59th), Centrelink (58), the Australian Taxation Office (56) and Pacific Brands (52).

The public relations fallout from the oil for food scandal five years ago and the ensuing single desk wheat marketing debate continues to hurt AWB.

AWB spokesman, Peter McBride, said the company had "come a long way" to rebuild its reputation, a process that is still happening.

"We hope to see an improvement in the future," Mr McBride said.

AWB was once an iconic Aussie company because of its job marketing all of Australia's export wheat - a role it lost after the oil for food scandal when international wheat marketing was opened up to competition.

AMR general manager, Oliver Freedman, said AWB actually got a better point score this year, despite the sliding rank.

"In 2008 AWB scored 25.04 out of 100 but in our latest index it scored 42.7 and I'd expect this to reach 50 within a few years," Mr Freedman said.

While a score of 50 would lift AWB off the bottom of the list it would still only put the company in about 54th place.

Mr Freedman said many city dwellers polled in the reputation survey only knew AWB in relation to the Iraq wheat scandal and the Cole Inquiry.

Wesfarmers is the only farming related company to make the top 15.

It came in seventh after securing 13th place last year.

Wesfarmers was once an agribusiness giant and is now a diversified operation with retail and energy interests but is still involved in rural insurance and fertiliser supply.

Wesfarmers, however, is probably better known and more respected as the company behind Coles and Bunnings.