Commitments and Contingencies Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)
| 9 Months Ended |
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Sep. 30, 2011 |
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| Commitments and Contingencies [Abstract] | |
| Schedule of Line of Credit Facilities [Table Text Block] | Our available lines of credit, outstanding standby LOC’s, and bonds are as follows: | | | | | | | | | | September 30, 2011 | | December 31, 2010 | | (in thousands) | Credit facilities(1) | | | | Multicurrency revolving line of credit | $ | 500,000 |
| | $ | 240,000 |
| Long-term borrowings | (200,000 | ) | | — |
| Standby LOC’s issued and outstanding | (35,872 | ) | | (43,540 | ) | Net available for additional borrowings and LOC’s | $ | 264,128 |
| | $ | 196,460 |
| | | | | Unsecured multicurrency revolving lines of credit with various financial institutions | | | | Multicurrency revolving line of credit | $ | 76,405 |
| | $ | 49,122 |
| Standby LOC’s issued and outstanding | (30,500 | ) | | (21,784 | ) | Short-term borrowings(2) | (901 | ) | | (66 | ) | Net available for additional borrowings and LOC’s | $ | 45,004 |
| | $ | 27,272 |
| | | | | Unsecured surety bonds in force | $ | 142,336 |
| | $ | 120,109 |
|
| | (1) | See Note 6 for details regarding our secured credit facilities. |
| | (2) | Short-term borrowings are included in “Other current liabilities” on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. |
|
| Schedule of Warranty Accruals [Table Text Block] | A summary of the warranty accrual account activity is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | 2011 | | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2010 | | (in thousands) | Beginning balance | $ | 62,838 |
| | $ | 49,203 |
| | $ | 51,283 |
| | $ | 33,873 |
| New product warranties | 1,512 |
| | 3,964 |
| | 5,591 |
| | 9,660 |
| Other changes/adjustments to warranties | 26,263 |
| | 7,845 |
| | 40,906 |
| | 23,438 |
| Reclassification from other current liabilities | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 2,878 |
| Claims activity | (9,207 | ) | | (9,585 | ) | | (18,422 | ) | | (16,648 | ) | Effect of change in exchange rates | (2,374 | ) | | 2,246 |
| | (326 | ) | | 472 |
| Ending balance, September 30 | 79,032 |
| | 53,673 |
| | 79,032 |
| | 53,673 |
| Less: current portion of warranty | 50,798 |
| | 28,232 |
| | 50,798 |
| | 28,232 |
| Long-term warranty | $ | 28,234 |
| | $ | 25,441 |
| | $ | 28,234 |
| | $ | 25,441 |
|
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| Warranty Expense by Segment [Table Text Block] | Warranty expense associated with our segments for the three and nine months ended September 30 is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | 2011 | | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2010 | | (in thousands) | Itron North America | $ | 21,850 |
| | $ | 6,575 |
| | $ | 28,364 |
| | $ | 14,990 |
| Itron International | 5,925 |
| | 5,234 |
| | 9,575 |
| | 20,986 |
| Total warranty expense | $ | 27,775 |
| | $ | 11,809 |
| | $ | 37,939 |
| | $ | 35,976 |
|
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| Schedule of Changes to Unearned Revenue for Extended Warranty [Table Text Block] | A summary of changes to unearned revenue for extended warranty contracts is as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended
September 30, | | Nine Months Ended
September 30, | | 2011 | | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2010 | | (in thousands) | Beginning balance | $ | 19,109 |
| | $ | 9,665 |
| | $ | 14,637 |
| | $ | 5,870 |
| Unearned revenue for new extended warranties | 3,138 |
| | 2,424 |
| | 8,286 |
| | 6,970 |
| Unearned revenue recognized | (283 | ) | | (389 | ) | | (959 | ) | | (1,140 | ) | Ending balance, September 30 | 21,964 |
| | 11,700 |
| | 21,964 |
| | 11,700 |
| Less: current portion of unearned revenue for extended warranty | 1,162 |
| | 1,147 |
| | 1,162 |
| | 1,147 |
| Long-term unearned revenue for extended warranty within Other long-term obligations | $ | 20,802 |
| | $ | 10,553 |
| | $ | 20,802 |
| | $ | 10,553 |
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| Health Benefit Plan Costs and Incurred But Not Reported Accrual Balance [Table Text Block] | Plan costs are as follows: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Three Months Ended September 30, | | Nine Months Ended September 30, | | 2011 | | 2010 | | 2011 | | 2010 | | (in thousands) | Plan costs | $ | 5,653 |
| | $ | 5,053 |
| | $ | 18,324 |
| | $ | 14,455 |
|
IBNR accrual, which is included in wages and benefits payable, are as follows:
| | | | | | | | | | September 30, 2011 | | December 31, 2010 | | (in thousands) | IBNR accrual | $ | 2,511 |
| | $ | 2,056 |
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