Accounts Receivable

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Accounts Receivable, Net [Abstract]

Accounts Receivable

ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE:

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

	September 30, 2019			December 31, 2018
Accounts receivable – trade	$	395,512		$	397,255
Accounts receivable – grants from outside parties	24,677			19,376
Accounts receivable – insurance and other third-party claims	29,386			19,729
Total accounts receivable	449,575			436,360
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts	(12,513		)	(10,055		)
Accounts receivable, net	$	437,062		$	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 September 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 $23.0 million and $16.7 million for the nine months ended September 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 nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 (dollars in thousands):

	Three Months Ended				Nine Months Ended
	September 30,				September 30,
	2019		2018		2019		2018
Amortization of deferred grants	$	3,442	$	3,173	$	10,265	$	8,776

Insurance and Third-Party Claims

The increase in the balance of the accounts receivable from insurance and other third-party claims for the nine months ended September 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 September 30, 2019.

The Company completed its annual property insurance renewal during the third quarter of 2019, which became effective on August 1, 2019. Effective with this renewal, the Company's property policies have various self-insured retentions, which vary based on the type and location of the incident, up to $10.0 million. The Company recently completed its annual liability insurance renewal, which became effective on November 1, 2019. Effective with this renewal, the Company's liability policies have various self-insured retentions up to $5.0 million.