Inventories, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]

Inventories, Net

Inventories, Net

Inventories consist of the following (in millions):

	December 31,
	2019			2018
Inventories at FIFO, net of reserves	$	875.6		$	866.1
Less: LIFO reserve	(204.7		)	(177.1		)
Total inventories, net of reserves	$	670.9		$	689.0

During periods of rising prices, the LIFO method of costing inventories generally results in higher current costs being charged against income while lower costs are retained in inventories. Conversely, during periods of decreasing prices, the LIFO method of costing inventories generally results in lower current costs being charged against income and higher stated inventories. If the FIFO method had been used for valuing inventories in the U.S., inventories would have been $204.7 million and $177.1 million higher at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Company recorded LIFO expense of $27.6 million, $25.2 million and $21.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, respectively. The Company had a decrement in certain of its LIFO inventory layers of $20.3 million and $30.7 million in 2019 and 2018, respectively, which had the effect of reducing its LIFO expense by $2.8 million in 2019 and $3.9 million in 2018.