Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We are exposed to market risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates, commodity prices and interest rates. To reduce the risk from changes in certain foreign currency exchange rates and commodity prices, we use financial instruments from time to time. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.

Foreign currency

We are exposed to foreign currency exchange risk as a result of purchasing from suppliers in other countries as well as operating businesses in foreign countries. Periodically, we utilize foreign currency forward purchase and sales contracts to manage the volatility associated with foreign currency purchases in the normal course of business. Contracts typically have maturities of one year or less. Realized and unrealized gains and losses on transactions denominated in foreign currency are recorded in earnings as a component of cost of goods sold. At December 31, 2012, we had no foreign exchange contracts outstanding. As of December 31, 2013, we had the following foreign currency contracts outstanding (in thousands):

With the purchase of the Ottomotores businesses in December 2012 and the Tower Light business in August 2013, a small portion of revenues and expenses are now denominated in Euros, Mexican Pesos, Brazilian Real and British Pounds.

Commodity prices

We are a purchaser of commodities and of components manufactured from commodities, including steel, aluminum, copper and others. As a result, we are exposed to fluctuating market prices for those commodities. While such materials are typically available from numerous suppliers, commodity raw materials are subject to price fluctuations. We generally buy these commodities and components based upon market prices that are established with the supplier as part of the purchase process. Depending on the supplier, these market prices may reset on a periodic basis based on negotiated lags. To the extent that commodity prices increase and we do not have firm pricing from our suppliers, or our suppliers are not able to honor such prices, we may experience a decline in our gross margins to the extent we are not able to increase selling prices of our products or obtain manufacturing efficiencies or supply chain savings to offset increases in commodity costs.

Periodically, we engage in certain commodity risk management activities. The primary objectives of these activities are to understand and mitigate the impact of potential price fluctuations on our financial results. Generally, these risk management transactions will involve the use of commodity derivatives to protect against exposure resulting from significant price fluctuations.

We primarily utilize commodity contracts with maturities of one year or less. These are intended to offset the effect of price fluctuations on actual inventory purchases. The primary objective of the hedge is to mitigate the impact of potential price fluctuations of commodity on our financial results. As of December 31, 2013, we had the following commodity forward contracts outstanding (in thousands):

For additional information on the Company’s commodity forward contracts, including amounts charged to the statement of comprehensive income during 2013, see Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Interest rates

As of December 31, 2013, all of the outstanding debt under our term loans was subject to floating interest rate risk. As of this date, we had the following interest rate swap contracts outstanding (in thousands):

At December 31, 2013, the fair value of the swaps reduced for our credit risk and excluding any related accrued interest was an asset of $1.2 million. For additional information on the Company’s interest rate swaps, including amounts charged to the statement of comprehensive income during 2013, see Note 2 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Even after giving effect to these swaps, we are exposed to risks due to changes in interest rates with respect to the portion of our term loans that are not covered by the swaps. A hypothetical change in the LIBOR interest rate of 100 basis points would have changed annual cash interest expense by approximately $4.9 million (or, without the swaps in place, $5.9 million). The existence of a 0.75% LIBOR floor provision in our New Term Loan Credit Agreement, effective May 31, 2013, limits the impact of a hypothetical 100 basis point change in LIBOR at current December 31, 2013 LIBOR rates.