Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Schedule of Line of Credit Facilities [Table Text Block]

Our available lines of credit, outstanding standby LOC’s, and bonds are as follows:

	September 30, 2011			December 31, 2010
	(in thousands)
Credit facilities(1)
Multicurrency revolving line of credit	$	500,000		$	240,000
Long-term borrowings	(200,000		)	—
Standby LOC’s issued and outstanding	(35,872		)	(43,540		)
Net available for additional borrowings and LOC’s	$	264,128		$	196,460
Unsecured multicurrency revolving lines of credit with various financial institutions
Multicurrency revolving line of credit	$	76,405		$	49,122
Standby LOC’s issued and outstanding	(30,500		)	(21,784		)
Short-term borrowings(2)	(901		)	(66		)
Net available for additional borrowings and LOC’s	$	45,004		$	27,272
Unsecured surety bonds in force	$	142,336		$	120,109

⁽¹⁾  See Note 6 for details regarding our secured credit facilities.

⁽²⁾  Short-term borrowings are included in “Other current liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Schedule of Warranty Accruals [Table Text Block]

A summary of the warranty accrual account activity is as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
	(in thousands)
Beginning balance	$	62,838		$	49,203		$	51,283		$	33,873
New product warranties	1,512			3,964			5,591			9,660
Other changes/adjustments to warranties	26,263			7,845			40,906			23,438
Reclassification from other current liabilities	—			—			—			2,878
Claims activity	(9,207		)	(9,585		)	(18,422		)	(16,648		)
Effect of change in exchange rates	(2,374		)	2,246			(326		)	472
Ending balance, September 30	79,032			53,673			79,032			53,673
Less: current portion of warranty	50,798			28,232			50,798			28,232
Long-term warranty	$	28,234		$	25,441		$	28,234		$	25,441

Warranty Expense by Segment [Table Text Block]

Warranty expense associated with our segments for the three and nine months ended September 30 is as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011		2010		2011		2010
	(in thousands)
Itron North America	$	21,850	$	6,575	$	28,364	$	14,990
Itron International	5,925		5,234		9,575		20,986
Total warranty expense	$	27,775	$	11,809	$	37,939	$	35,976

Schedule of Changes to Unearned Revenue for Extended Warranty [Table Text Block]

A summary of changes to unearned revenue for extended warranty contracts is as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011			2010			2011			2010
	(in thousands)
Beginning balance	$	19,109		$	9,665		$	14,637		$	5,870
Unearned revenue for new extended warranties	3,138			2,424			8,286			6,970
Unearned revenue recognized	(283		)	(389		)	(959		)	(1,140		)
Ending balance, September 30	21,964			11,700			21,964			11,700
Less: current portion of unearned revenue for extended warranty	1,162			1,147			1,162			1,147
Long-term unearned revenue for extended warranty within Other long-term obligations	$	20,802		$	10,553		$	20,802		$	10,553

Health Benefit Plan Costs and Incurred But Not Reported Accrual Balance [Table Text Block]

Plan costs are as follows:

	Three Months Ended September 30,				Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011		2010		2011		2010
	(in thousands)
Plan costs	$	5,653	$	5,053	$	18,324	$	14,455

IBNR accrual, which is included in wages and benefits payable, are as follows:

	September 30, 2011		December 31, 2010
	(in thousands)
IBNR accrual	$	2,511	$	2,056