5. Inventories

The composition of inventories was as follows:

	December 31
(In thousands)	2016		2015
Finished products	$	127,597	$	124,481
Raw materials		46,066		45,943
Total inventories	$	173,663	$	170,424

Inventories are primarily priced using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) inventory valuation method. If the first-in, first-out (FIFO) inventory valuation method had been used for all inventories, inventory balances would have been approximately $25,872,000 and $18,171,000 higher than reported at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.