Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
We have operations both within the United States and internationally, and are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of our business.
Foreign Exchange Risk
We have foreign exchange rate risk in our international operations, and through purchases from foreign vendors. Changes in the values of currencies of foreign countries affect our financial position, income statement and cash flows when translated into U.S. Dollars. We estimate that if the exchange rate were to change by 10% in any one country where we have our operations, the change in net income would not be material to our operations taken as a whole.
We may manage our exposure to transactional exposures by entering into foreign currency forward contracts for forecasted transactions and projected cash flows for foreign currencies in future periods. In 2021 and 2022, we entered into financial contracts at various times to hedge the risk of fluctuations associated with the Euro and the Chinese Yuan during 2022 and 2023.
Interest Rate Risk
Our primary exposure to interest rate risk results from outstanding borrowings under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, which bears interest at variable rates. As of June 30, 2023, the outstanding debt under the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement subject to interest rate fluctuations was $571.9 million. The variable interest rates on the Credit Agreement fluctuate and expose us to short-term changes in market interest rates as our interest obligation on this instrument is based on prevailing market interest rates. Interest rates fluctuate as a result of many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors that are beyond our control.
We have entered into an interest rate swap agreement to convert the variable interest rate on the balances outstanding under our Amended and Restated Credit Agreement to fixed interest rates. The objective of the interest rate swap agreement is to eliminate the variability of the interest payment cash flows associated with the variable interest rate outstanding under the borrowings. We designated the interest rate swaps as cash flow hedges. Refer to Note 8, "Derivatives and Hedging Instruments", for further information on our interest rate swap contracts in effect as of June 30, 2023.
Commodity Price Risk
In the normal course of business, we are exposed to market risk related to our purchase of steel, a significant raw material upon which our manufacturing depends. The cost of steel increased in 2021 when compared to historical levels due to the worldwide raw material shortage stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. While steel is typically available from numerous suppliers, the price of steel is a commodity subject to fluctuations that apply across broad spectrums of the steel market. We do not use any derivative or hedging instruments to manage steel price risk. If the price of steel increases, our variable costs would also increase. While historically we have successfully mitigated these increased costs through the implementation of price increases, in the future we may not be able to successfully mitigate these costs, which could cause our operating margins to decline.
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