Accounts Receivable

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2019

Accounts Receivable, Net [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

Accounts receivable consisted of the following as of June 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 (dollars in thousands):

	June 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Accounts receivable – trade	$	406,770		$	397,255
Accounts receivable – grants from outside parties	18,748			19,376
Accounts receivable – insurance and other third-party claims	31,707			19,729
Total accounts receivable	457,225			436,360
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts	(13,057		)	(10,055		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	444,168		$	426,305

The timing of revenue recognition, billings and cash collections result in trade accounts receivable, contract assets and contract liabilities. The Company’s contract assets and liabilities are typically short-term in nature, with terms settled within a 12-month period. The Company had no material contract assets or contract liabilities recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2019 or December 31, 2018.

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 $14.9 million and $12.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively, from such grant programs. The proceeds were presented as cash inflows from investing activities within the statement of cash flows for each of the applicable periods. The Company records additions to property and equipment for its grant-funded projects and defers 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 and six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Six Months Ended
	June 30,				June 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Amortization of deferred grants	$	3,315	$	3,136	$	6,823	$	5,603

Insurance and Third-Party Claims

The increase in the balance of the accounts receivable from insurance and other third-party claims for the six months ended June 30, 2019 was primarily related to the anticipated insurance recovery associated with a personal injury that occurred in the U.K. in 2019. The receivable and the associated claim liability were recorded on the balance sheet as of June 30, 2019.

The Company recently completed its annual property insurance renewal, which takes effect on August 1, 2019. Effective with this renewal, the Company's property policies will have various self-insured retentions, which vary based on the type and location of the incident, up to $10.0 million.