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Note 5 - Derivative Financial Instruments
 3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Abstract]  
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]
5.
Derivative Financial Instruments

From time to time, the Company may enter into various fixed rate commodity swap contracts in an effort to manage its exposure to price volatility of diesel fuel.  Refer to Note 9 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in the 2014 Form 10-K for further information about our derivative financial instruments.

At March 31, 2015, accumulated other comprehensive income consisted of unrecognized losses of $59,000, down from $101,000 at December 31, 2014, representing the unrealized change in fair value of the effective portion of the Company’s commodity contracts, designated as cash flow hedges, as of the balance sheet date.  For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company recognized a pre-tax net realized cash settlement loss on commodity contracts of $50,000 and gain of $14,000, respectively.

At March 31, 2015, the Company had hedged its exposure to the variability in future cash flows from forecasted diesel fuel purchases totaling 55,000 gallons.  The monthly volumes hedged range from 10,000 gallons to 15,000 gallons over the April 2015 to August 2015 period at fixed prices per gallon ranging from $2.75 to $2.78.  Due to the recent decline in oil and fuel prices, we have not entered into any new derivative instruments and we intend to retire our hedging program when our last swap contract is settled in August 2015.

Fair Value

The Company’s swaps are valued based on a discounted future cash flow model.  The primary input for the model is the forecasted prices for ULSD.  The Company’s model is validated by the counterparty’s fair value statements.  The swaps are designated as Level 2 within the valuation hierarchy.  Refer to Note 1 for a description of the inputs used to value the information shown above.

At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company did not have any derivative assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis that meet the definition of Level 1 or Level 3 fair value inputs.