Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk.
Interest Rate Risk
Our debt exposes us to risk of fluctuations in interest rates. Floating rate debt, where the interest rate fluctuates periodically, exposes us to short-term changes in market interest rates. Fixed rate debt, where the interest rate is fixed over the life of the instrument, exposes us to changes in market interest rates reflected in the fair value of the debt and to the risk that we may need to refinance maturing debt with new debt at higher rates. We manage our debt portfolio to achieve an overall desired proportion of fixed and floating rate debts and may employ interest rate swaps as a tool from time to time to achieve that position. To manage our interest rate risk exposure, we entered into three interest rate swap contracts to hedge the floating rate term loans. See Note 10 - Debt to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q for additional information.
As of March 31, 2022, our aggregate floating rate debt’s outstanding principal balance was $138.0 million, or 89.6% of total debt, consisting of long-term debt and our revolving line of credit. See Note 10 - Debt to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements in this Form 10-Q for additional information. Our floating rate debt interest is based on the floating 1-month SOFR plus a predetermined credit adjustment rate plus the bank spread. The remaining 10.4% of our debt is fixed-rate and floating rate with hedge. In a hypothetical scenario, a 1% change in the applicable rate would cause the interest expense on our floating rate debt to change by approximately $1.4 million per year.
Fuel Price Risk
We are also exposed to risks relating to fluctuations in the price and availability of diesel fuel. We require significant quantities of diesel fuel for our vehicle fleet, and the inbound delivery of the products we sell is also dependent upon shipment by diesel-fueled vehicles. We currently are able to obtain adequate supplies of diesel fuel, despite the fact that prices in the current quarter increased by 47.9% from the comparable period of 2021. However, it is impossible to predict the future availability or price of diesel fuel. The price and supply of diesel fuel fluctuates based on external factors not within our control, including geopolitical developments, supply and demand for oil and gas, regional production patterns, weather conditions and environmental concerns. Increases in the cost of diesel fuel could increase our cost of goods sold and operating costs to deliver products to our customers.
We do not actively hedge against price fluctuations of diesel fuel in general. Instead, we seek to minimize fuel cost risk through delivery route optimization and fleet utilization improvements.
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