COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
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Apr. 01, 2018 | |||||||||||||
| Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |||||||||||||
| COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES |
NOTE 11. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
We are subject to numerous lawsuits and claims arising out of the ordinary course of our business, including actions related to product liability; personal injury; the use and performance of our products; warranty matters; product recalls; patent, trademark or other intellectual property infringement; contractual liability; the conduct of our business; tax reporting in foreign jurisdictions; distributor termination; workplace safety; and environmental matters. We also have been identified as a potentially responsible party at multiple waste disposal sites under U.S. federal and related state environmental statutes and regulations and may have joint and several liability for any investigation and remediation costs incurred with respect to such sites. We have denied liability with respect to many of these lawsuits, claims and proceedings and are vigorously defending such lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We carry various forms of commercial, property and casualty, product liability and other forms of insurance; however, such insurance may not be applicable or adequate to cover the costs associated with a judgment against us with respect to these lawsuits, claims and proceedings. We do not believe that these lawsuits are material individually or in the aggregate. While we believe we have also established adequate accruals pursuant to GAAP for our expected future liability with respect to pending lawsuits, claims and proceedings, where the nature and extent of any such liability can be reasonably estimated based upon then presently available information, there can be no assurance that the final resolution of any existing or future lawsuits, claims or proceedings will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.
We conduct significant business operations in Brazil that are subject to the Brazilian federal, state and local labor, social security, tax and customs laws. While we believe we comply with such laws, they are complex, subject to varying interpretations and we are often engaged in litigation regarding the application of these laws to particular circumstances.
Engine System Campaign Accrual
During 2017, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) selected certain of our pre-2013 model year engine systems for additional emissions testing. Some of these engine systems failed CARB and EPA tests as a result of degradation of an aftertreatment component. We have not been issued an official notice from the CARB or EPA regarding these particular engine systems. We continue to work with the agencies to develop a resolution of these matters. We are developing and testing a variety of solutions to address the technical issues, which could include a combination of calibration changes, additional service practices and hardware changes.We recorded a charge of $29 million to cost of sales in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income in the third quarter of 2017 for the then expected cost of field campaigns to repair some of these engine systems. We have concluded based upon additional emission testing performed, and further discussions with the agencies in the first quarter of 2018, that the field campaigns should be expanded to include a larger population of our engine systems that are subject to the aftertreatment component degradation, including our model years 2010 through 2015. As a result, we recorded an additional charge of $187 million, or $0.87 per share, to cost of sales in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income ($94 million recorded in the Components segment and $93 million in the Engine segment) in the first quarter of 2018, to reflect our current estimated cost of these expanded campaigns. See NOTE 10, "PRODUCT WARRANTY LIABILITY," for additional information.
For the engine populations under evaluation, we are in the process of finalizing the form and extent of solutions to address the technical matters. The accrual recorded in the first quarter of 2018 represents our current best estimate of the expected cost of our recommended courses of action to address these matters and is based upon certain assumptions about the effectiveness of our proposed solutions and the agencies' acceptance of those solutions. Since there are many variables with respect to these degradation issues, it is difficult to assess whether our future costs will be consistent with our current accrual for this matter. If, through the course of our ongoing internal work to develop and test our proposed solutions, it becomes apparent that more extensive repairs are required for certain populations of engine systems, or if the agencies do not accept our proposed solutions, then further charges may be recorded in the period in which our current assumptions change. It is reasonably possible that such
changes in assumption could occur, with a range of zero, if our current proposed solutions are effective and approved, up to an incremental exposure of approximately $400 million above our recorded accrual at the end of the first quarter.
We do not currently expect any fines or penalties from the EPA or CARB related to this matter.
Guarantees and Commitments
Periodically, we enter into guarantee arrangements, including guarantees of non-U.S. distributor financings, residual value guarantees on equipment under operating leases and other miscellaneous guarantees of joint ventures or third-party obligations. At April 1, 2018, the maximum potential loss related to these guarantees was $55 million.
We have arrangements with certain suppliers that require us to purchase minimum volumes or be subject to monetary penalties. At April 1, 2018, if we were to stop purchasing from each of these suppliers, the aggregate amount of the penalty would be approximately $73 million, of which $18 million relates to a contract with a components supplier that extends through 2018 and $15 million relates to a contract with a power systems supplier that extends to 2019. Most of these arrangements enable us to secure critical components. We do not currently anticipate paying any penalties under these contracts.
We enter into physical forward contracts with suppliers of platinum, palladium and copper to purchase minimum volumes of the commodities at contractually stated prices for various periods, not to exceed two years. At April 1, 2018, the total commitments under these contracts were $31 million. These arrangements enable us to fix the prices of these commodities, which otherwise are subject to market volatility.
We have guarantees with certain customers that require us to satisfactorily honor contractual or regulatory obligations, or compensate for monetary losses related to nonperformance. These performance bonds and other performance-related guarantees were $107 million at April 1, 2018.
Indemnifications
Periodically, we enter into various contractual arrangements where we agree to indemnify a third-party against certain types of losses. Common types of indemnities include:
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