Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 26, 2014

The Financial Instruments Topic in the ASC requires disclosures about fair value of financial instruments in annual reports as well as in quarterly reports. For CSX, this statement applies to certain investments and long-term debt. Disclosure of the fair value of pension plan assets is only required annually. Also, this rule clarifies the definition of fair value for financial reporting, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires additional disclosures about the use of fair value measurements.

Various inputs are considered when determining the value of the Company's investments, pension plan assets and long-term debt. The inputs or methodologies used for valuing securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in these securities. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below.


•	Level 1 - observable market inputs that are unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets


•	Level 2 - other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar securities, interest rates, credit risk, etc.)

NOTE 9. Fair Value Measurements, continued


•	Level 3 - significant unobservable inputs (including the Company's own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The valuation methods described below may produce a fair value calculation that may not be indicative of net realizable value or reflective of future fair values. Furthermore, while the Company believes its valuation methods are appropriate and consistent with other market participants, the use of different methodologies or assumptions to determine the fair value of certain financial instruments could result in a different fair value measurement at the reporting date.

Investments

The Company's investment assets, valued with assistance from a third-party trustee, consist of certificates of deposits, commercial paper, corporate bonds, government securities and auction rate securities and are carried at fair value on the consolidated balance sheet per the Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures Topic in the ASC. There are several valuation methodologies used for those assets as described below.


•	Certificates of Deposit and Commercial Paper (Level 2): Valued by discounting the related cash flows based on current yields of similar instruments with comparable durations.


•	Corporate Bonds and Government Securities (Level 2): Valued using price evaluations reflecting the bid and/or ask sides of the market for a similar investment as of the last day of the period.


•	Auction Rate Securities (Level 3): Valued using a discounted cash flow model, because there is currently no active market for trading.

The Company's investment assets are carried at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets as summarized in the table below. Additionally, the amortized cost basis of these investments was $767 million and $668 million as of September 26, 2014 and December 27, 2013, respectively.



	September 26, 2014								December 27, 2013
(Dollars in Millions)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Certificates of Deposit and Commercial Paper	$	—	$	565	$	—	$	565	$	—	$	472	$	—	$	472
Corporate Bonds	—		143		—		143		—		132		—		132
Government Securities	—		48		—		48		—		49		—		49
Auction Rate Securities	—		—		11		11		—		—		15		15
Total investments at fair value	$	—	$	756	$	11	$	767	$	—	$	653	$	15	$	668

NOTE 9. Fair Value Measurements, continued

These investments have the following maturities:



(Dollars in millions)	September 26, 2014		December 27, 2013
Less than 1 year	$	575	$	487
1 - 2 years	55		58
2 - 5 years	123		105
Greater than 5 years	14		18
Total	$	767	$	668

Long-term Debt

Long-term debt is reported at carrying amount on the consolidated balance sheets and is the Company's only financial instrument with fair values significantly different from their carrying amounts. The majority of the Company's long-term debt is valued with assistance from an independent third party adviser that utilizes closing transactions, market quotes or market values of comparable debt. For those instruments not valued by the independent adviser, the fair value has been estimated by applying market rates of similar instruments to the scheduled contractual debt payments and maturities. These market rates are provided by the same independent adviser. All of the inputs used to determine the fair value of the Company's long-term debt are Level 2 inputs.

The fair value of outstanding debt fluctuates with changes in a number of factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, interest rates, market conditions, values of similar financial instruments, size of the transaction, cash flow projections and comparable trades. Fair value will exceed carrying value when the current market interest rate is lower than the interest rate at which the debt was originally issued. The fair value of a company's debt is a measure of its current value under present market conditions. It does not impact the financial statements under current accounting rules.

The fair value and carrying value of the Company's long-term debt is as follows:



(Dollars in millions)	September 26, 2014		December 27, 2013
Long-term Debt (Including Current Maturities):
Fair Value	$	10,715	$	10,354
Carrying Value	9,617		9,555

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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