Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions) Our first question is from Saul Ludwig KeyBanc.
Saul Ludwig KeyBanc
Bob, I wonder if you could talk a little bit about the effect of FIFO accounting and how that may have helped you in the third quarter because of a period of rising prices. You want benefits from FIFO accounting. Then, when we go the other direction, is there a reverse effect, particularly maybe as it affected your distribution business, but other businesses as well? In looking at your outlook, how are the declining selling prices for resins and FIFO accounting going to impact you?
Bob Patterson
Without disclosing exact order of magnitude that would be a rough estimate. It did benefit us in the third quarter, and you can see that in our distribution business perhaps more clearly than the others. But you're right in that we will see a negative implication from a downward pricing environment in the fourth quarter and beyond if prices continue to decline. That is part of the expectations we have for the balance of the year and one of the reasons why we see that as a challenge to meet our prior earnings expectations.
Saul Ludwig KeyBanc
My other question is any early thoughts on cap spending for next year relative to somewhat less than $55 million for this year?
Bob Patterson
It will definitely be less than that number. We are conducting a thorough review of our capital appropriations for next year. I will tell you that our maintenance levels are around $20 million to $25 million. We will be giving a great deal of scrutiny to any projects beyond that next year.
Operator
Our next question comes from Michael Judd Greenwich Consultants.
Michael Judd Greenwich Consultants
I just wonder if we could have a little bit more granularity in a couple of areas where it looks like things might be rolling over a little bit. You definitely got a benefit from hurricanerelated issues in your distribution business in the September quarter. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about volumes and any other pertinent issues in that particular segment of the December quarter so we can make sure that we understand seasonality, but also the hurricane impact and how that would have impacted profits and volumes in the September quarter.
Then just lastly, are you implying, and I haven't updated my files yet, are you implying that we might see a breakeven to negative EPS number for the December quarter? Is that kind of where we're going?
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