Property, Plant and Equipment

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment

The components of property, plant and equipment are as follows:

(in thousands)	March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013		March 31, 2013
Land	$	21,906	$	21,801	$	22,637
Land improvements and leasehold improvements	67,876		67,153		64,972
Buildings and storage facilities	234,109		231,976		219,500
Machinery and equipment	309,283		308,215		290,930
Software	13,403		13,351		13,464
Construction in progress	52,200		48,135		38,893
	698,777		690,631		650,396
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	312,645		303,173		286,089
	$	386,132	$	387,458	$	364,307

Depreciation expense on property, plant and equipment amounted to $9.9 million, $37.5 million and $9.3 million for the year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2014, December 31, 2013, and March 31, 2013, respectively.

In December 2013, the Company recorded charges totaling $4.4 million for asset impairment, primarily due to the write down of asset values in Retail. The Company wrote down the value of these assets to the extent their carrying amounts exceeded fair value. The Company classified the significant assumptions used to determine the fair value of the impaired assets, which were not material, as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. 

Railcar assets leased to others

The components of Railcar assets leased to others are as follows:

(in thousands)	March 31, 2014		December 31, 2013		March 31, 2013
Railcar assets leased to others	$	316,520	$	317,750	$	325,633
Less: accumulated depreciation	78,986		77,129		80,927
	$	237,534	$	240,621	$	244,706

Depreciation expense on railcar assets leased to others amounted to $3.4 million, $14.7 million and $3.7 million for the year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2014, December 31, 2013 and March 31, 2013, respectively.