Guarantees

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Guarantees [Abstract]

Guarantees

8. Guarantees

Our products are generally sold with warranty periods that range from 12 to 36 months following sale or acceptance. Parts and labor are covered under the terms of the warranty agreement. The warranty provision is based on historical and projected experience by product and configuration.

Changes in accrued warranty were as follows (in thousands):

	Three Months Ended
	March 31, 2012			March 26, 2011
Balance at beginning of period	$	6,801		$	5,016
Warranty expense accruals		1,665			3,271
Warranty payments		(1,739	)		(1,984	)
Balance at end of period	$	6,727		$	6,303

From time-to-time, during the ordinary course of business, we provide standby letters of credit for certain contingent liabilities under contractual arrangements, including customer contracts. As of March 31, 2012, the maximum potential amount of future payments that Cohu could be required to make under these standby letters of credit was approximately $0.5 million. We have not recorded any liability in connection with these guarantee arrangements beyond that required to appropriately account for the underlying transaction being guaranteed. We do not believe, based on historical experience and information currently available, that it is probable that any amounts will be required to be paid under these arrangements.