Sale of Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Sale of Assets

Property, Plant and Equipment

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

	December 31,
(in thousands)	2019		2018
Land	$	40,442	$	29,739
Land improvements and leasehold improvements	103,148		68,826
Buildings and storage facilities	373,961		284,998
Machinery and equipment	835,156		393,640
Construction in progress	59,993		102,394
	1,412,700		879,597
Less: accumulated depreciation	474,282		402,886
	$	938,418	$	476,711

Capitalized interest totaled $2.2 million and $1.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

Depreciation expense on property, plant and equipment amounted to $82.3 million, $46.5 million and $48.3 million for the years ended 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

In December 2019, the Company recorded charges of $32.3 million for impairment of property, plant and equipment in the Trade segment related to its frac sand assets. The Company also recorded a $3.7 million impairment of property, plant, and equipment in the Trade segment related to its Tennessee grain assets, of which $3.1 million was recorded in the second quarter.

In June 2018, the Company recorded charges totaling $1.6 million for impairment of property, plant and equipment in the Trade segment related to assets that were reclassified as assets held for sale at June 30, 2018 and were sold in the third quarter.

In December 2017, the Company recorded charges totaling $10.9 million for impairment of property, plant and equipment in the Trade segment, of which $5.6 million relates to assets that were deemed held and used and $5.3 million related to assets that had been reclassified as held for sale at December 31, 2017. These assets were then sold during 2018.

Rail Group Assets

The components of the Rail Group assets leased to others are as follows:

	December 31,
(in thousands)	2019		2018
Rail Group assets leased to others	$	723,004	$	640,349
Less: accumulated depreciation	138,706		118,564
	$	584,298	$	521,785

Depreciation expense on Rail Group assets leased to others amounted to $28.5 million, $24.7 million and $20.0 million for the years ended 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

In June 2018, the Company recorded charges of $4.7 million for impairment of Rail Group assets leased to others that had been reclassified as assets held for sale at June 30, 2018. These assets were sold during the second half of 2018.

Sale of Assets

During 2019, the Trade Group sold the agronomy assets of Thompsons Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary, in Ontario, Canada for $25.1 million resulting in a pre-tax gain of $5.7 million recorded in Other income, net. The Plant Nutrient Group sold its farm center assets in Bay City, Michigan for $4.6 million resulting in a pre-tax gain of $2.9 million recorded in Other income, net. The Trade Group sold its assets in Union City, Tennessee for $0.6 million resulting in a pre-tax loss of $0.6 million in Other income, net.

During 2018, the Company sold its grain elevators in Humboldt, Kenton and Dyer, Tennessee for $19.5 million plus working capital during the second quarter of 2018 and its Como location for $1.3 million plus working capital during the third quarter of 2018. The Company sold one of its convertible preferred security investments for $6.4 million and recorded a pre-tax gain of $3.9 million in Other income, net. The Company sold fifty barge vessels for $26.9 million and recorded a pre-tax gain of $2.4 million in Other income, net. The Company sold its final retail property for $4.9 million and recorded a nominal gain.

During 2017, the Company sold three of its retail properties for $14.7 million and recorded a $8.6 million gain in Other income, net. Additionally, the Company recorded a $1.2 million gain in Other income, net for the sales of fixtures. The Company also sold four farm center locations in Florida for $17.4 million and recorded a $4.7 million gain, net of transaction costs in Other income, net.