Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

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 September 30, 2018, December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017, 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. The Company’s available for sale securities principally consist of corporate and municipal bonds that are publicly traded and variable rate demand notes and obligations with interest rates that generally reset weekly and the security can be “put” back and sold weekly. Trading securities principally consist of equity 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 September 30, 2018, December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 and indicate the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques utilized by the Company to determine such fair value:



	Estimated Fair Value September 30, 2018
	Total		Input Levels Used
	Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	64,333	$	64,333	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		189,172		732		188,440		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		177		-		177		-
Commodity futures contracts		(859)		(859)		-		-
Trading securities		67,594		67,594		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	320,417	$	131,800	$	188,617	$	-


	Estimated Fair Value December 31, 2017
		Total	Input Levels Used
		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	96,314	$	96,314	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		171,596		1,200		170,396		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		79		-		79		-
Commodity futures contracts, net		32		32		-		-
Trading securities		60,520		60,520		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	328,541	$	158,066	$	170,475	$	-


	Estimated Fair Value September 30, 2017
		Total	Input Levels Used
		Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash and cash equivalents	$	49,512	$	49,512	$	-	$	-
Available for sale securities		193,169		2,402		190,767		-
Foreign currency forward contracts		147		-		147		-
Commodity futures contracts		(364)		(364)		-		-
Trading securities		75,094		75,094		-		-
Total assets measured at fair value	$	317,558	$	126,644	$	190,914	$	-

The fair value of the Company’s industrial revenue development bonds at September 30, 2018, December 31, 2017 and September 30, 2017 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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