Accounts Receivable

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Accounts Receivable, Net [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

Accounts receivable consisted of the following as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 (dollars in thousands):

	March 31, 2018			December 31, 2017
Accounts receivable – trade	$	400,926		$	401,723
Accounts receivable – grants from outside parties	16,142			17,734
Accounts receivable – insurance and other third-party claims	20,015			10,753
Total accounts receivable	437,083			430,210
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts	(14,356		)	(13,505		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	422,727		$	416,705

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 $5.9 million and $4.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, 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 March 31, 2018 and 2017 (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	2018		2017
Amortization of deferred grants	$	2,467	$	3,245

Insurance and Third-Party Claims

Accounts receivable from insurance and other third-party claims as of March 31, 2018 included $11.1 million from the Company's U.K./European Operations and $8.9 million from the Company's North American Operations. The balance from the Company's U.K./European Operations resulted primarily from the Company's anticipated insurance recoveries associated with a personal injury that occurred in the U.K. in 2016 and a rail-related collision in Germany in 2014 that occurred prior to the Company's acquisition of Freightliner. The balance from the Company's North American Operations resulted predominately from the Company's anticipated insurance recoveries associated with a bridge washout in Canada in January 2018 and a 2015 trestle fire in the United States. The Company received proceeds from insurance totaling $1.6 million and $1.4 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Accounts receivable from insurance and other third-party claims at December 31, 2017 included $5.9 million from the Company's North American Operations, $4.3 million from the Company's U.K./European Operations and $0.6 million from the Company's Australian Operations. 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 balance from the Company's U.K./European Operations resulted primarily from the Company's anticipated insurance recoveries associated with a rail-related collision in Germany in 2014 that occurred prior to the Company's acquisition of Freightliner.