FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS:

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Note 4 — Fair Value Measurements

Current accounting guidance defines fair value as the price that would be received on the sale of an asset, or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Guidance requires disclosure of the extent to which fair value is used to measure financial assets and liabilities, the inputs utilized in calculating valuation measurements, and the effect of the measurement of significant unobservable inputs on earnings, or changes in net assets, as of the measurement date. Guidance establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy based upon the transparency of inputs utilized in the measurement and valuation of financial assets or liabilities as of the measurement date. Level 1 inputs include quoted prices for identical instruments and are the most observable. Level 2 inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and observable inputs such as interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, commodity rates and yield curves. Level 3 inputs are not observable in the market and include management’s own judgments about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The use of observable and unobservable inputs is reflected in the hierarchy assessment disclosed in the table below.

As of March 31, 2015, December 31, 2014 and March 29, 2014, the Company held certain financial assets that are required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis. These included derivative hedging instruments related to the purchase of certain raw materials and foreign currencies, investments in trading securities and available for sale securities, including an auction rate security. The Company’s available for sale and trading securities principally consist of municipal bonds and mutual funds that are publicly traded.

The following table presents information about the Company’s financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value as of March 31, 2015, December 31, 2014 and March 29, 2014, and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized by the Company to determine such fair value:



	Estimated Fair Value March 31, 2015
	Total		Input Levels Used
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	85,430	$	85,430	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		133,412		2,461		130,951		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		(3,328)		-		(3,328)		-
Commodity futures contracts		(1,709)		(1,709)		-		-
Trading securities		75,171		75,171		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	288,976	$	161,353	$	127,623	$	-


	Estimated Fair Value December 31, 2014
		Total	Input Levels Used
		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	100,108	$	100,108	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		131,347		2,446		128,901		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		(1,939)		-		(1,939)		-
Commodity futures contracts, net		(737)		(737)		-		-
Trading securities		71,682		71,682		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	300,461	$	173,499	$	126,962	$	-


	Estimated Fair Value March 29, 2014
		Total	Input Levels Used
		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	51,179	$	51,179	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		138,225		-		138,225		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		(1,613)		-		(1,613)		-
Commodity futures contracts		388		388		-		-
Trading securities		63,412		63,412		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	251,591	$	114,979	$	136,612	$	-

The fair value of the Company’s industrial revenue development bonds at March 31, 2015, December 31, 2014 and March 29, 2014 were valued using Level 2 inputs which approximates the carrying value of $7,500 for the respective periods. Interest rates on these bonds are reset weekly based on current market conditions.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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