Property, Plant and Equipment

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2014

Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, Plant and Equipment

The components of property, plant and equipment are as follows:

(in thousands)	September 30, 2014		December 31, 2013		September 30, 2013
Land	$	22,415	$	21,801	$	23,348
Land improvements and leasehold improvements	68,976		67,153		67,262
Buildings and storage facilities	238,664		231,976		224,913
Machinery and equipment	320,648		308,215		299,874
Software	55,791		13,351		13,558
Construction in progress	28,260		48,135		54,713
	734,754		690,631		683,668
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	332,954		303,173		303,294
	$	401,800	$	387,458	$	380,374

Depreciation expense on property, plant and equipment amounted to $31.6 million, $37.5 million and $27.9 million for the year-to-date periods ended September 30, 2014, December 31, 2013, and September 30, 2013, respectively.

In December 2013, the Company recorded charges totaling $4.4 million for asset impairment, primarily due to the write down of asset values in Retail. The Company wrote down the value of these assets to the extent their carrying amounts exceeded fair value. The Company classified the significant assumptions used to determine the fair value of the impaired assets, which were not material, as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. 

Railcar assets leased to others

The components of Railcar assets leased to others are as follows:

(in thousands)	September 30, 2014		December 31, 2013		September 30, 2013
Railcar assets leased to others	$	330,318	$	317,750	$	309,360
Less: accumulated depreciation	84,469		77,129		76,336
	$	245,849	$	240,621	$	233,024

Depreciation expense on railcar assets leased to others amounted to $10.5 million, $14.7 million and $11.1 million for the year-to-date periods ended September 30, 2014, December 31, 2013 and September 30, 2013, respectively.