PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 27, 2020

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, plant and equipment (“PP&E”), net consisted of the following:


	December 27, 2020		December 29, 2019
	(In thousands)
Land	$	255,171	$	222,076
Buildings	1,983,823		1,754,219
Machinery and equipment	3,230,199		3,139,748
Autos and trucks	73,647		64,122
Finance lease assets	2,182		2,182
Construction-in-progress	199,161		229,015
PP&E, gross	5,744,183		5,411,362
Accumulated depreciation	(3,086,692)		(2,819,301)
PP&E, net	$	2,657,491	$	2,592,061

The Company recognized depreciation expense of $314.4 million, $264.3 million and $248.3 million during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

During 2020, the Company spent $354.8 million on capital projects and transferred $423.7 million of completed projects from construction-in-progress to depreciable assets. Capital expenditures were primarily incurred during 2020 to improve operational efficiencies and reduce costs. During 2019, the Company spent $348.1 million on capital projects and transferred $400.8 million of completed projects from construction-in-progress to depreciable assets.

During 2020, the Company sold certain PP&E for $32.0 million and recognized a gain of $13.8 million. PP&E sold in 2020 consisted of broiler farms in Mexico, vacant land in Alabama and other miscellaneous equipment. During 2019, the Company sold certain PP&E for $15.8 million and recognized a gain of $10.9 million. PP&E sold in 2019 included broiler farms in Mexico, a breeder farm in Texas, vacant land in Minnesota and miscellaneous equipment.

The Company has closed or idled various facilities in the U.S. and the U.K. Neither the Board of Directors nor JBS has determined if it would be in the best interest of the Company to divest any of these idled assets. Management is therefore not certain that it can or will divest any of these assets within one year, is not actively marketing these assets and, accordingly, has not classified them as assets held for sale. The Company continues to depreciate these assets. As of December 27, 2020, the carrying amount of these idled assets was $42.3 million based on depreciable value of $185.5 million and accumulated depreciation of $143.2 million.

As of December 27, 2020, the Company assessed if events or changes in circumstances indicated that the aggregate carrying amount of its property, plant and equipment held for use might not be recoverable. There were no indicators present that required the Company to test the recoverability of the aggregate carrying amount of its property, plant and equipment held for use at that date.