Impairments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Disclosure Text Block Supplement [Abstract]

NOTE Z— IMPAIRMENTS

During the fourth quarter of 2019, similar to the fourth quarter of 2018, we experienced a sharp decline in customer demand for Northern White frac sand and for regional non-in-basin frac sand as more tons are produced and sold in-basin. Additionally, the price of frac sand decreased significantly. Given the changes in demand and customer preferences of local in-basin sand, we also experienced a significant decline in the utilization of the sand railcar fleet in our transload network. A significant number of sand railcars have been put into storage and are no longer used to deliver sand to our customers. In response to these economic conditions, we implemented numerous cost reductions including headcount reductions and a reduction of frac sand capacity at multiple locations.

As a result of the events described above, we have recorded impairment charges (in thousands) for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 for the following assets:



Description	December 31, 2019		December 31, 2018
Inventories, net	$	4,100	$	3,316
Property, plant and mine development, net	243,064		109,938
Operating lease right-of-use assets	115,443		—
Goodwill	—		164,167
Intangible assets, net	1,240		4,478
Total	$	363,847	$	281,899

2019 Impairments

As a result of triggering events described above, which occurred in the fourth quarter of 2019, we completed an impairment assessment of our frac sand-related assets, including plant, property and mine development, right-of-use assets, inventories, and other intangible assets.

Inventories, net

We recorded impairment charges for unused inventory at frac sand plants we idled. These charges relate to the Oil & Gas Segment and are recorded in "Goodwill and other asset impairments" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Property, plant and mine development

We estimated the future undiscounted net cash flows of asset groupings, which are at the plant level, using estimates of proven and probable sand reserves, estimated future sales prices (considering historical and current prices, price trends and related factors) and operating costs and anticipated capital expenditures. In the cases where the undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets, we recognized an impairment loss equal to the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the assets. Impairment charges of approximately $243.1 million were recorded mainly related to facilities that have reduced capacity or have been idled, including Tyler, Texas, Sparta, Wisconsin, and Utica, Illinois. These charges relate to the Oil & Gas Segment and are recorded in "Goodwill and other asset impairments" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Operating lease right-of-use assets

We determined the fair value of the railcars primarily utilizing internally developed cash flow models and quoted market prices, discounted at an appropriate weighted average cost of capital. As a result, we recognized impairment charges of approximately $115.4 million to write down the value of railcars to their estimated fair value. These charges relate mainly to the Oil & Gas Segment and are recorded in "Goodwill and other asset impairments" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Intangible assets, net

We recorded a $1.2 million impairment of customer relationships related to the Oil & Gas segment that was recorded in the "Goodwill and other asset impairments" caption of our Consolidated Statements of Operations.

2018 Impairments

During the fourth quarter of 2018, we experienced a declining shift in demand for Northern White sand caused by some of our customers shifting to local in-basin frac sands with lower logistics costs. Our largest customer at our Voca, Texas plant did not renew their contract, instead opting to sign a new contract with us for local in-basin frac sand. Additionally, Northern White Sand operations and reserves in Fairchild, Wisconsin and Peru, Illinois experienced a similar significant fourth quarter decline in demand due to customers' shift to local in-basin sand closer to their operations.

As a result of these triggering events, we completed an impairment assessment of our frac sand-related assets, including plant, property and mine development, goodwill and other intangible assets.

Inventories, net

We recorded impairment charges for unused inventory related to the closure of our resin coating facility and associated product portfolio. These charges relate to the Oil & Gas Segment and are recorded in "Goodwill and other asset impairments" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Property, plant and mine development

We estimated the future undiscounted net cash flows of asset groupings using estimates of proven and probable sand reserves, estimated future sales prices (considering historical and current prices, price trends and related factors) and operating costs and anticipated capital expenditures. In the cases where the undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying value of the assets, we recognized an impairment loss equal to the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the assets. Impairment charges of approximately $109.9 million were recorded mainly related to facilities that have reduced capacity, have been idled or were undeveloped, including Voca, Texas, Fairchild, Wisconsin, Rochelle, Illinois, and Peru, Illinois. These charges relate to the Oil & Gas Segment and are recorded in "Goodwill and other asset impairments" in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, net

We performed a quantitative analysis and determined that the goodwill of our Oil & Gas Sand reporting unit was impaired. We recognized goodwill impairment charges of $164.2 million and intangible asset impairment charges related to trade names of $4.5 million during the fourth quarter of 2018. These impairment charges were recorded in the "Goodwill and other asset impairments" caption of our Consolidated Statements of Operations. The fair value of our reporting units was determined using a combination of the discounted cash flow method and the market multiples approach.