Note 10 - Fair Value of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

10.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amount and estimated fair values of the Company's debt are summarized as follows:

	2018						2017
	Carrying		Estimated		Carrying		Estimated
	Amount		Fair Value		Amount		Fair Value
	(In thousands)
Long-term debt, including current portion	$	417,834	$	417,485	$	332,633	$	332,926

Capital leases, including current portion	$	42,009	$	39,023	$	39,033	$	37,505
		.

The estimated fair value for long-term debt and capital leases is determined by the quoted market prices for similar debt (comparable to the Company’s financial strength) or current rates offered to the Company for debt with the same maturities which is Level

from the fair value hierarchy. Since quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets are

not

available (Level

), the Company makes use of observable market based inputs to calculate fair value, which is Level

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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