1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Myers Industries, Inc. and all wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”). All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. All subsidiaries that are not wholly owned and are not included in the consolidated operating results of the Company are immaterial investments which have been accounted for under the equity or cost method. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of revenues and expenses during the reported period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Certain items previously reported in specific financial statement captions have been reclassified to conform to the fiscal 2016 presentation.

Accounting Standards Adopted

In September 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2015-16, Simplifying the Accounting for Measurement-Period Adjustments in relation to business combinations. Under existing standards, the measurement-period adjustments are calculated as if they were known at the acquisition date, and are recognized by revising information in prior periods. Under the new standard, measurement-period adjustments continue to be calculated as if they were known at the acquisition date, but are recognized in the reporting period in which they are determined, with no revisions to prior periods relating to the business combination. In addition to the disclosure requirement explaining the nature and amount of the measurement-period adjustments, additional disclosures are required to explain the impact on current period income statement line items of adjustments that would have been recognized in prior periods if such period information had been revised. ASU 2015-16 became effective for annual reporting periods, including interim reporting periods within those periods, beginning after December 15, 2015. Adoption of ASU 2015-16 in the first quarter of 2016 did not have an impact on the Company's results of operations, cash flows or financial position.

In April 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Interest - Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-03) - Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs, which requires unamortized debt issuance costs to be presented as a reduction of the corresponding debt liability rather than a separate asset. The Company adopted ASU 2015-03 retrospectively in the first quarter of 2016. As a result of the retrospective adoption, the Company reclassified unamortized debt issuance cost of $1,125 as of December 31, 2015 from other non-current assets to a reduction of long-term debt in the Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Adoption of ASU 2015-03 did not have an impact on the Company’s results of operations or cash flows.

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties About an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern. The new standard provides guidance on determining when and how to disclose going concern uncertainties in the financial statements. Under ASU 2014-15, management will be required to perform interim and annual assessments of the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year of the date the financial statements are issued. ASU 2014-15 became effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2016, and interim periods thereafter. The adoption of this standard did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statement disclosures.

Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-04, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) - Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment. This ASU eliminates Step 2 of the goodwill impairment test and requires a goodwill impairment to be measured as the amount by which a reporting unit’s carrying amount exceeds its fair value, not to exceed the carrying amount of its goodwill. The ASU is effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. The guidance allows for early adoption for impairment testing dates after January 1, 2017. While the Company is currently evaluating the timing of adoption, it does not believe that the adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Restricted Cash. This ASU requires that companies include amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents, along with cash and cash equivalents, when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those annual periods. To the extent there are changes in the Company’s restricted cash balances, adoption of this standard will impact the statement of cash flows.

In October 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Accounting for Income Taxes: Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory (Topic 740). This ASU requires immediate recognition of the income tax consequences of intercompany asset transfers other than inventory. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017 and interim periods within those annual periods. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows – Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which clarifies how entities should classify certain cash receipts and cash payments on the statement of cash flows. The new guidance also clarifies how the predominance principle should be applied when cash receipts and cash payments have aspects of more than one class of cash flows. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not anticipate that adoption of this standard will have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, which introduces new guidance for the accounting for credit losses on instruments. The new guidance introduces an approach based on expected losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that adoption of this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation - Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. Under the new standard, income tax benefits and deficiencies are to be recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the income statement and the tax effects of exercised or vested awards should be treated as discrete items in the reporting period in which they occur. An entity should also recognize excess tax benefits regardless of whether the benefit reduces taxes payable in the current period. Excess tax benefits should be classified along with other income tax cash flows as an operating activity. In regards to forfeitures, the entity may make an entity-wide accounting policy election to either estimate the number of awards that are expected to vest or account for forfeitures when they occur. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016 including interim periods within that reporting period, with early adoption permitted. The Company plans to elect to recognize forfeitures as they occur and is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Under ASU 2016-02, an entity will be required to recognize right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on its balance sheet and disclose key information about leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 offers specific accounting guidance for a lessee, a lessor and sale and leaseback transactions. Lessees and lessors are required to disclose qualitative and quantitative information about leasing arrangements to enable a user of the financial statements to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The new standard is effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2019 and requires a modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, to clarify the principles used to recognize revenue for all entities. Under ASU 2014-09, an entity will recognize revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The new guidance also includes enhanced disclosure requirements, and is effective January 1, 2018, with early adoption permitted for January 1, 2017. Entities have the option to apply the new guidance under a retrospective approach to each prior reporting period presented, or a modified retrospective approach with the cumulative effect of initially applying the new guidance recognized at the date of initial application within the Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity. The Company plans to adopt the new guidance effective January 1, 2018. The Company has made substantial progress in its evaluation of the new standard and expects to complete its evaluation of the impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements during the first half of 2017. The Company currently plans to adopt the new guidance under the modified retrospective approach.

Translation of Foreign Currencies

All asset and liability accounts of consolidated foreign subsidiaries are translated at the current exchange rate as of the end of the accounting period and income statement items are translated monthly at an average currency exchange rate for the period. The resulting translation adjustment is recorded in other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of shareholders' equity.

Fair Value Measurement

The Company follows guidance included in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, for its financial assets and liabilities, as required. The guidance established a common definition for fair value to be applied under U.S. GAAP requiring the use of fair value, established a framework for measuring fair value, and expanded disclosure requirements about such fair value measurements. The guidance did not require any new fair value measurements, but rather applied to all other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements. Under ASC 820, the hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value is divided into three levels:

Level 1:

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2:

Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active or inputs that are observable either directly or indirectly.

Level 3:

Unobservable inputs for which there is little or no market data or which reflect the entity’s own assumptions.

The Company has financial instruments, including cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses. The fair value of these financial instruments approximate carrying value due to the nature and relative short maturity of these assets and liabilities.

The fair value of debt under the Company’s Loan Amendment approximates carrying value due to the floating rates and relative short maturity (less than 90 days) of the revolving borrowings under this agreement. The fair value of the Company’s fixed rate senior unsecured notes was estimated using market observable inputs for the Company’s comparable peers with public debt, including quoted prices in active markets and interest rate measurements which are considered level 2 inputs. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the aggregate fair value of the Company's $100.0 million fixed rate senior unsecured notes was estimated at $98.0 million and $102.1 million, respectively.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk primarily consist of trade accounts receivable. The concentration of accounts receivable credit risk is generally limited based on the Company’s diversified operations, with customers spread across many industries and countries. The Company’s largest single customer in 2016 accounts for approximately 4% of net sales with no other customer greater than 3%. Outside of the United States, only customers located in Brazil and Canada, which account for approximately 3.9% and 4.4% of net sales, respectively, are significant to the Company’s operations. In addition, management has established certain requirements that customers must meet before credit is extended. The financial condition of customers is continually monitored and collateral is usually not required. The Company evaluates the collectability of accounts receivable based on a combination of factors. In circumstances where the Company is aware of a specific customer’s inability to meet its financial obligations, a specific allowance for doubtful accounts is recorded against amounts due to reduce the net recognized receivable to the amount the Company reasonably believes will be collected. Additionally, the Company also reviews historical trends for collectability in determining an estimate for its allowance for doubtful accounts. If economic circumstances change substantially, estimates of the recoverability of amounts due the Company could be reduced by a material amount. Expense related to bad debts was approximately $0.9 million, $0.3 million and $0.4 million for the years 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. Deductions from the allowance for doubtful accounts, net of recoveries, were approximately $0.4 million, $0.5 million and $0.9 million for the years 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Factoring

The Company's wholly-owned subsidiaries Plasticos Novel Do Nordeste S.A. and Plasticos Novel Do Parana S.A. (collectively, "Novel") entered into a factoring agreement to sell, without recourse, certain of their Brazilian real-based trade accounts receivables to unrelated third party financial institutions as part of its working capital management. The sale of these receivables accelerated the collection of cash and reduced credit exposure. Under the terms of the factoring agreements, the Company retains no rights or interest and has no obligations with respect to the sold receivables. As such, the factoring of trade receivables under these agreements are accounted for as a sale. The Company accounts for its trade receivable factoring program as required under ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing. During 2016, $5.8 million of trade accounts receivables had been sold under the terms of the factoring agreement for cash proceeds of $5.3 million. During 2015, $5.8 million of trade accounts receivables had been sold under the terms of the factoring agreement for cash proceeds of $5.4 million. The receivables sold pursuant to the factoring agreements have been recorded as a reduction of trade accounts receivable and as cash provided by operating activities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The Company pays an administrative fee based on the dollar value of the receivables sold. Administrative fees related to the program for 2016 and 2015 were approximately $0.5 million and $0.4 million, respectively. These fees are included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market for last-in, first-out (“LIFO”) inventory and lower of cost or net realizable value for first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) inventory. Approximately 40 percent of our inventories are valued using the LIFO method of determining cost. All other inventories are valued at the FIFO method of determining cost.

If the FIFO method of inventory cost valuation had been used exclusively by the Company, inventories would have been $4.7 million, $5.1 million and $6.8 million higher than reported at December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. LIFO inventories increased cost of sales and decreased income from continuing operations before income taxes by $0.1 million in 2016. Cost of sales decreased by less than $0.1 million in 2015 and $0.4 million in 2014 as a result of the liquidation of LIFO inventories.

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. The Company provides for depreciation and amortization on the basis of the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets as follows:

Buildings	20 to 40 years
Machinery and Equipment	3 to 10 years
Leasehold Improvements	5 to 10 years

At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had approximately $4.1 million of capitalized software costs included in machinery and equipment on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Financial Position. Amortization expense related to capitalized software costs was approximately $0.6 million, $0.5 million and $0.3 million in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews its long-lived assets and identifiable intangible assets with finite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Determination of potential impairment related to assets to be held and used is based upon undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use and ultimate disposition of the asset. For assets held for disposal, the amount of potential impairment may be based upon appraisal of the asset, estimated market value of similar assets or estimated cash flow from the disposition of the asset. Refer to Note 3 for discussion of the impairment charges.

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenues from the sale of products, net of actual and estimated returns, at the point of passage of title and risk of loss, which is generally at time of shipment, and collectability of the fixed or determinable sales price is reasonably assured.

Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and are as follows:

	Foreign Currency			Defined Benefit Pension Plans			Total
Balance at January 1, 2014	$	3,493		$	(1,066	)	$	2,427
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications		(13,318	)		(826	)		(14,144	)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax of ($16) ⁽¹⁾		—			29			29
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(13,318	)		(797	)		(14,115	)
Balance at December 31, 2014		(9,825	)		(1,863	)		(11,688	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications		(17,131	)		144			(16,987	)
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax of ($32) ⁽¹⁾		(10,491	)		56			(10,435	)
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		(27,622	)		200			(27,422	)
Balance at December 31, 2015		(37,447	)		(1,663	)		(39,110	)
Other comprehensive income (loss) before reclassifications		5,105			(222	)		4,883
Amounts reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income, net of tax of ($30) ⁽¹⁾		—			53			53
Net current-period other comprehensive income (loss)		5,105			(169	)		4,936
Balance at December 31, 2016	$	(32,342	)	$	(1,832	)	$	(34,174	)

(1)

The accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) components related to defined benefit pension plans are included in the computation of net periodic pension cost. (See Note 13-Retirement Plans for additional details.) Cumulative translation adjustment associated with the sale of the Lawn and Garden business was included in the carrying value of assets disposed of.

Shipping and Handling

Shipping and handling expenses are primarily classified as selling expenses in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company incurred shipping and handling costs of approximately $16.8 million, $16.4 million and $19.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.

Stock Based Compensation

The Company has stock plans that provide for the granting of stock-based compensation to employees and to non-employee directors. Shares issued for option exercises or restricted shares may be either from authorized but unissued shares or treasury shares. The Company records the costs of the plan under the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation. For transactions in which the Company obtains employee services in exchange for an award of equity instruments, the Company measures the cost of the services based on the grant date fair value of the award. The Company recognizes the cost over the period during which an employee is required to provide services in exchange for the award, referred to as the requisite service period (usually the vesting period).

Income Taxes

Income taxes are accounted for under the liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those differences are expected to be received or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company evaluates its tax positions in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes. ASC 740 provides detailed guidance for the financial statement recognition, measurement and disclosure of uncertain tax positions recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements. Income tax positions must meet a more-likely-than-not recognition threshold at the effective date to be recognized under ASC 740. The Company recognizes potential accrued interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid instruments purchased with a maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates market value. The Company maintains operating cash and reserves for replacement balances in financial institutions which, from time to time, may exceed federally insured limits. The Company periodically assesses the financial condition of these institutions and believes that the risk of loss is minimal.

Cash flows used in investing activities excluded $0.1 million, $6.6 million and $0.2 million of accrued capital expenditures in 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.