
(4)	Inventories

Inventories consist primarily of domestic and foreign crude oil, blending stock and components, work-in-progress, fertilizer products, and refined fuels and by-products. Inventories are valued at the lower of the first-in, first-out (“FIFO”) cost or market for fertilizer products, refined fuels and by-products for all periods presented. Refinery unfinished and finished products inventory values were determined using the ability-to-bear process, whereby raw materials and production costs are allocated to work-in-process and finished products based on their relative fair values. Other inventories, including other raw materials, spare parts, and supplies, are valued at the lower of moving-average cost, which approximates FIFO, or market. The cost of inventories includes inbound freight costs.

Inventories consisted of the following:


	June 30,		December 31,
	2011		2010
	(in thousands)

Finished goods	$	129,881	$	110,788
Raw materials and precious metals		135,619		89,333
In-process inventories		24,473		22,931
Parts and supplies		25,973		24,120

	$	315,946	$	247,172