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Restructuring and asset impairment
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]  
Restructuring and asset impairment Restructuring and asset impairment
Due to its geographic footprint and the cost-competitive nature of its businesses, the Company is constantly seeking the most cost-effective means and structure to serve its customers and to respond to fundamental changes in its markets. As such, restructuring costs have been and are expected to be a recurring component of the Company's operating costs. The amount of these costs can vary significantly from year to year depending upon the scope and location of the restructuring activities.
Following are the total restructuring and asset impairment charges, net of adjustments, recognized during the periods presented:

 Year Ended December 31,
  
201920182017
Restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges$44,819  $40,071  $19,834  
Other asset impairments15,061  —  18,585  
Restructuring/Asset impairment charges$59,880  $40,071  $38,419  
"Restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges" and "Other asset impairments" are included in “Restructuring/Asset impairment charges” in the Consolidated Statements of Income.
The Company expects to recognize future additional costs totaling approximately $2,800 in connection with previously announced restructuring actions. The Company believes that the majority of these charges will be incurred and paid by the end of 2020.
The table below sets forth restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges by type incurred:

 Year Ended December 31,
201920182017
Severance and Termination Benefits$24,864  $15,224  $12,684  
Asset Impairment/Disposal of Assets9,674  6,193  120  
Other Costs10,281  18,654  7,030  
Total restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges$44,819  $40,071  $19,834  

The table below sets forth restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges by reportable segment:
 Year Ended December 31,
201920182017
Consumer Packaging$34,850  $15,205  $6,751  
Display and Packaging2,459  18,800  2,048  
Paper and Industrial Converted Products4,927  4,301  7,410  
Protective Solutions519  1,532  3,162  
Corporate2,064  233  463  
Total restructuring and restructuring-related asset impairment charges$44,819  $40,071  $19,834  

The following table sets forth the activity in the restructuring accrual included in “Accrued expenses and other” on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets:

Accrual Activity
Severance
and
Termination
Benefits
Asset
Impairment/
Disposal
of Assets
Other
Costs
Total
Liability, December 31, 2017$5,982  $—  $1,164  $7,146  
2018 charges15,224  6,193  18,654  40,071  
Cash (payments)/receipts(15,844) 26,566  (17,541) (6,819) 
Asset write downs/disposals—  (32,759) —  (32,759) 
Foreign currency translation(69) —  2  (67) 
Liability, December 31, 2018$5,293  $—  $2,279  $7,572  
2019 charges24,864  9,674  10,281  44,819  
Cash (payments)/receipts(19,386) 5,225  (11,983) (26,144) 
Asset write downs/disposals—  (14,899) —  (14,899) 
Foreign currency translation(6) —  15  9  
Liability, December 31, 2019$10,765  $—  $592  $11,357  
The Company expects to pay the majority of the remaining restructuring reserves by the end of 2020 using cash generated from operations.
During 2019, the Company announced the elimination of a forming film production line at a flexible packaging facility in Illinois, and initiated the closure of a composite can and injection molding facility in Germany, a composite can plant in Malaysia, a molded plastics plant in the United States (all part of the Consumer Packaging segment), and three tube and core plants - one in the United Kingdom, one in Norway, and one in Estonia (all part of the Paper and Industrial Converted Products segment). Restructuring actions in the Protective Solutions segment included charges associated with the exit of a protective packaging facility in Texas. In addition the Company continued to realign its cost structure, resulting in the elimination of approximately 223 positions.
"Asset Impairment/Disposal of Assets" recognized in 2019 consist primarily of the following asset impairment charges: $4,124 from the elimination of a forming film line at a flexible packaging facility in Illinois; $3,663 from the closure of a composite can and injection molding facility in Germany; $909 from the closure of a thermoformed packaging plant in California; $325 from the closure of a composite can plant in Malaysia; and $1,827 from various other restructuring actions during 2019. Partially offsetting these losses was a $1,173 gain from the sale of a vacant Protective Solutions facility in Connecticut for which the Company received cash proceeds of $929, released an environmental reserve of $675, the liability for which was assumed by the buyer, and wrote off assets with a book value of $431.
"Other costs" in 2019 consist primarily of costs related to plant closures including equipment removal, utilities, plant security, property taxes and insurance.
During 2018, the Company initiated the closures of a flexible packaging plant in North Carolina, a global brand management facility in Canada, and a thermoformed packaging plant in California (all part of the Consumer Packaging segment), and five tube and core plants - one in Alabama, one in Canada, one in Indonesia, one in Russia, and one in Norway (all part of the Paper and Industrial Converted Products segment), and a protective packaging plant in North Carolina (part of the Protective Solutions segment). Restructuring actions in the Display and Packaging segment included charges associated with exiting a single-customer contract at a packaging center in Atlanta, Georgia. In addition, the Company continued to realign its cost structure, resulting in the elimination of approximately 120 positions.
Included in "Asset Impairment/Disposal of Assets" above in 2018 are losses totaling $4,516 from the disposition of certain assets as a result of exiting a single-customer contract associated with a packaging center in Atlanta, Georgia. The Company received proceeds of $22,163 in conjunction with the sale of fixed assets with a net book value of $24,869, and wrote off inventory with a book value of $1,810. Also included in "Asset Impairment/Disposal of Assets" are net losses totaling $1,677 from various other restructuring actions during 2018.
"Other Costs" in 2018 include a contract termination fee of $9,600 relating to exiting the single-customer contract, a one-time building lease contract termination fee of $1,931 relating to the closure of a packaging services center in Mexico, as well as costs related to plant closures including equipment removal, utilities, plant security, property taxes and insurance.
Other Asset Impairments
During the Company's 2019 long-lived asset impairment testing, management concluded that certain assets within the temperature-controlled shipping solution business associated with the ThermoSafe division, part of the Protective Packaging segment, were impaired as the value of the projected cash flows from these assets was no longer sufficient to recover their carrying values. As a result, the Company recognized a pretax asset impairment charge of $10,099. Also during this testing, the Company impaired the assets and inventory associated with a plastic can business line in the United States (part of the Consumer Packaging segment) due to the inability to generate sufficient revenues associated with this product offering. As a result, the Company recognized an asset impairment charge of $4,054. In addition, the single customer served using certain proprietary technology in our flexible packaging business ended its relationship with Sonoco in 2019, resulting in the recognition of a pretax asset impairment charge for the remaining net book value of fixed assets and intangible assets totaling $908.
During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recognized the impairment of a power generating facility at its Hartsville manufacturing complex. The facility, which is part of the Paper and Industrial Converted Products segment, was determined to have been rendered obsolete by
the Company's new biomass facility and was closed during the first quarter of 2018. As a result, the Company recognized a pretax asset impairment charge of $17,822 in December 2017.
Also in 2017, as a result of the continued devaluation of the Venezuelan Bolivar, the Company recognized impairment charges against inventories and certain long-term nonmonetary assets totaling $338. The assets were deemed to be impaired as the U.S. dollar value of the projected cash flows from these assets was no longer sufficient to recover their U.S. dollar carrying values. In addition, the Company has recognized foreign exchange remeasurement losses on net monetary assets of $425.
These asset impairment charges are included in “Restructuring/Asset impairment charges” in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Income.