4.	Inventories

Inventories consisted of the following:

(in thousands)	December 31, 2017		January 1, 2017
Finished products	$	116,354	$	90,259
Manufacturing materials		33,073		23,196
Plastic shells, plastic pallets and other inventories		34,191		30,098
Total inventories	$	183,618	$	143,553

The growth in the inventories balance at December 31, 2017, as compared to January 1, 2017, is primarily a result of inventory acquired through the completion of the 2017 System Transformation Transactions.