Accounts Receivable

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2017

Accounts Receivable, Net [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

Accounts receivable consisted of the following as of June 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, (dollars in thousands):

	June 30, 2017			December 31, 2016
Accounts receivable – trade	$	371,990		$	353,347
Accounts receivable – grants from outside parties	9,981			10,652
Accounts receivable – insurance and other third-party claims	10,837			11,994
Total accounts receivable	392,808			375,993
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts	(12,869		)	(12,070		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	379,939		$	363,923

The increase in the Company's trade accounts receivable balance resulted primarily from receivables of the newly acquired Pentalver. See Note 2, Changes in Operations, for additional information regarding the Pentalver acquisition.

Grants from Outside Parties

The Company periodically receives grants for the upgrade and construction of rail lines and the upgrade of locomotives from federal, provincial, state and local agencies in the United States and provinces in Canada in which the Company operates. These grants typically reimburse the Company for 50% to 100% of the actual cost of specific projects. In total, the Company received grant proceeds of $11.6 million and $26.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively, from such grant programs. The proceeds were presented as cash inflows from investing activities within each of the applicable periods.

None of the Company's grants represent a future liability of the Company unless the Company abandons the rehabilitated or new track structure within a specified period of time or fails to maintain the upgraded or new track to certain standards, fails to make certain minimum capital improvements or ceases use of the locomotives within the specified geographic area and time period, or fails to comply with other grant provisions in each case, as set forth in the applicable grant agreement. As the Company intends to comply with the requirements of these agreements, the Company has recorded additions to track property and locomotives and has deferred the amount of the grants. The amortization of deferred grants is a non-cash offset to depreciation expense over the useful lives of the related assets.

The following table sets forth the offset to depreciation expense from the amortization of deferred grants recorded by the Company during the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2017		2016		2017		2016
Amortization of deferred grants	$	3,065	$	2,912	$	6,310	$	5,861

Insurance and Third-Party Claims

Accounts receivable from insurance and other third-party claims at June 30, 2017 included $6.1 million from the Company's U.K./European Operations, $4.4 million from the Company's North American Operations and $0.3 million from the Company's Australian Operations. The balance from the Company's U.K./European Operations resulted primarily from the Company's anticipated insurance recoveries associated with a pre-acquisition rail-related collision in Germany in 2014. The balance from the Company's North American Operations resulted predominately from the Company's anticipated insurance recoveries associated with a 2015 trestle fire in the United States and derailments in Canada. The Company received proceeds from insurance totaling $1.4 million and $7.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.