Business Segment Information

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Reportable business segment information for the three months ended March 31 was as follows:



	Metal Containers		Closures		Plastic Containers		Corporate			Total
	(Dollars in thousands)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Net sales	$	485,954	$	370,345	$	155,981	$	—		$	1,012,280
Depreciation and amortization⁽¹⁾	20,254		18,650		8,950		22			47,876
Rationalization charges	482		39		182		—			703
Segment income	37,093		48,224		11,082		(4,217		)	92,182

Three Months Ended March 31, 2017
Net sales	$	466,236	$	197,682	$	141,489	$	—		$	805,407
Depreciation and amortization⁽¹⁾	18,798		9,182		8,437		23			36,440
Rationalization charges	722		53		110		—			885
Segment income ⁽²⁾	43,870		23,799		6,834		(17,741		)	56,762

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⁽¹⁾	Depreciation and amortization excludes amortization of debt issuance costs of $1.1 million for each of the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.


⁽²⁾	Segment income for Corporate includes costs attributed to announced acquisitions of $13.2 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.

Total segment income is reconciled to income before income taxes as follows:



	2018		2017
	(Dollars in thousands)
Total segment income	$	92,182	$	56,762
Interest and other debt expense	30,481		23,095
Income before income taxes	$	61,701	$	33,667

Sales and segment income of our metal container business and part of our closures business are dependent, in part, upon fruit and vegetable harvests. The size and quality of these harvests varies from year to year, depending in large part upon the weather conditions in applicable regions. Because of the seasonality of the harvests, we have historically experienced higher unit sales volume in the third quarter of our fiscal year and generated a disproportionate amount of our annual segment income during that quarter.