Accounts Receivable and Inventories

Accounts receivable consist of the following:



(In thousands)	September 30 2017			December 31 2016
Trade accounts receivable	$	284,397		$	248,354
Less: Allowance for doubtful accounts	(5,165		)	(11,800		)
Trade accounts receivable, net	$	279,232		$	236,554

Other receivables (a)	$	22,647		$	21,053

(a) Other receivables include insurance claim receivables, employee receivables, tax claim receivables and other miscellaneous receivables not included in Trade accounts receivable, net.

The decrease in the Allowance for doubtful accounts during 2017 is due to the write-off of previously reserved trade accounts receivable balances.

The provision for doubtful accounts related to trade accounts receivable was as follows:



	Three Months Ended					Nine Months Ended
	September 30					September 30
(In thousands)	2017		2016			2017		2016
Provision for doubtful accounts related to trade accounts receivable	$	4,087	$	(93	)	$	5,262	$	84

The increase in the Provision for doubtful accounts for the three months ended September 30, 2017 is due principally to the write-off of certain pre-administration accounts receivable balances for one of the Company's customers in Australia.

Inventories consist of the following:



(In thousands)	September 30 2017		December 31 2016
Finished goods	$	28,765	$	26,464
Work-in-process	32,364		22,815
Contracts-in-process	79,279		54,044
Raw materials and purchased parts	62,188		61,450
Stores and supplies	24,412		22,908
Total inventories	$	227,008	$	187,681

Contracts-in-process consist of the following:



(In thousands)	September 30 2017			December 31 2016
Contract costs accumulated to date	$	119,322		$	90,276
Estimated forward loss provisions for contracts-in-process (b)	(40,043		)	(36,232		)
Contracts-in-process (c)	$	79,279		$	54,044


(b)	To the extent that the estimated forward loss provision exceeds accumulated contract costs it is included in the caption Other current liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, this amount totaled $3.4 million and $6.7 million, respectively.

(c) At September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company has $111.6 million and $101.1 million, respectively, of customer advances related to contracts-in-process. These amounts are included in the caption Advances on contracts and other customer advances on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Company recognized an estimated forward loss provision related to the contracts with the federal railway system of Switzerland ("SBB") of $45.1 million, for the year ended December 31, 2016 in Costs of products sold on the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, of which $40.1 million was recognized during the nine months ended September 30, 2016. There was no additional estimated forward loss provision recognized, excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuation, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017. The estimated forward loss provision represents the Company's best estimate based on currently available information. It is possible that the Company's overall estimate of costs to complete these contracts may increase, which would result in an additional estimated forward loss provision at such time, but the Company is unable to estimate any further possible loss or range of loss at this time.

The Company recognized less than $1 million in revenue for the contracts with SBB for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 under the percentage-of-completion (units-of-delivery) method and accordingly, there was an insignificant impact on the Company's gross margins and results of operations for this period. The Company did not recognize any revenue for these contracts for 2016. The Company has not yet recognized any revenue associated with the major equipment deliveries under the contracts with SBB. The majority of the equipment deliveries and related revenue recognition under these contracts are expected through 2020.