2 | Cost of sales |
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
| (all amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars) | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||||
| Inventories at the beginning of the year | 1,563,889 | 1,843,467 | 2,779,869 | |||||||||
| Plus: Charges of the year | ||||||||||||
| Raw materials, energy, consumables and other | 2,794,503 | 1,528,532 | 1,934,209 | |||||||||
| Services and fees | 244,035 | 199,210 | 298,470 | |||||||||
| Labor cost | 778,408 | 658,975 | 947,997 | |||||||||
| Depreciation of property, plant and equipment | 383,490 | 376,965 | 377,596 | |||||||||
| Amortization of intangible assets | 18,621 | 27,244 | 24,100 | |||||||||
| Maintenance expenses | 183,370 | 122,553 | 184,053 | |||||||||
| Allowance for obsolescence | (12,917 | ) | 32,765 | 68,669 | ||||||||
| Taxes | 18,542 | 16,693 | 21,523 | |||||||||
| Other | 88,823 | 89,575 | 92,059 | |||||||||
4,496,875 | 3,052,512 | 3,948,676 | ||||||||||
| Less: Inventories at the end of the year (*) | (2,368,304 | ) | (1,593,708 | ) | (1,843,467 | ) | ||||||
| From discontinued operations | (7,403 | ) | (136,587 | ) | (137,318 | ) | ||||||
3,685,057 | 3,165,684 | 4,747,760 | ||||||||||