Commitments and Contingencies

3 Months Ended

Oct. 01, 2011

Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

     Sysco is engaged in various legal proceedings which have arisen but have not been fully adjudicated. Management does not believe these proceedings will have a material adverse effect upon the consolidated financial position or results of operations of the company. However, the final results of legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty and if the company failed to prevail in one or more of these legal matters, the company's consolidated financial position or results of operations could be materially adversely affected in future periods.

Multiemployer Pension Plans

     Sysco contributes to several multiemployer defined benefit pension plans based on obligations arising under collective bargaining agreements covering union-represented employees. Sysco does not directly manage these multiemployer plans, which are generally managed by boards of trustees, half of whom are appointed by the unions and the other half by other employers contributing to the plan. Based upon the information available from plan administrators, management believes that several of these multiemployer plans are underfunded. In addition, pension-related legislation requires underfunded pension plans to improve their funding ratios within prescribed intervals based on the level of their underfunding. As a result, Sysco expects its contributions to these plans to increase in the future.

     Under current law regarding multiemployer defined benefit plans, a plan's termination, Sysco's voluntary withdrawal, or the mass withdrawal of all contributing employers from any underfunded multiemployer defined benefit plan would require Sysco to make payments to the plan for Sysco's proportionate share of the multiemployer plan's unfunded vested liabilities. Generally, Sysco does not have the greatest share of liability among the participants in any of the plans in which it participates. Based on the information available from plan administrators, which has valuation dates ranging from January 31, 2009 to December 31, 2010, Sysco estimates its share of withdrawal liability on most of the multiemployer plans in which it participates could have been as much as $210.0 million as of October 1, 2011, based on a voluntary withdrawal. This estimate excludes plans for which Sysco has recorded withdrawal liabilities. The majority of the plans Sysco participates in have a valuation date of calendar year-end. As such, the majority of the estimated withdrawal liability results from plans for which the valuation date was December 31, 2009; therefore, the company's estimated liability reflects the condition of the financial markets as of that date. Due to the lack of current information, management believes Sysco's current share of the withdrawal liability could materially differ from this estimate. In addition, if a multiemployer defined benefit plan fails to satisfy certain minimum funding requirements, the IRS may impose a nondeductible excise tax of 5% on the amount of the accumulated funding deficiency for those employers contributing to the fund.

     As of October 1, 2011, Sysco had approximately $46.9 million in liabilities recorded related to certain multiemployer defined benefit plans for which Sysco's voluntary withdrawal had already occurred. Recorded withdrawal liabilities are estimated at the time of withdrawal based on the most recently available valuation and participant data for the respective plans; amounts are adjusted in the period of payment to reflect any changes to these estimates. If any of these plans were to undergo a mass withdrawal, as defined by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, within a two year time frame from the point of our withdrawal, Sysco could have additional liability. The company does not currently believe any mass withdrawals are probable to occur in the applicable two year time frame relating to the plans from which Sysco has voluntarily withdrawn.

Fuel Commitments

     Sysco routinely enters into forward purchase commitments for a portion of its projected diesel fuel requirements. As of October 1, 2011, outstanding forward diesel fuel purchase commitments totaled approximately $91.7 million at a fixed price through September 2012.