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EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2024
Retirement Benefits [Abstract]  
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLANS
Pension plans
The Company has three frozen defined benefit pension plans covering certain employees or former employees of three U.S. subsidiaries. The Company also has pension plans covering certain employees of several foreign subsidiaries. The Company’s policy is to fund pension costs as required by law, which is consistent with the funding requirements of federal laws and regulations. Certain foreign subsidiaries maintain unfunded pension plans consistent with local practices and requirements.

The Company’s recorded liability for pensions is based on a number of assumptions, including discount rates, rates of return on investments, mortality rates, and other factors.  Certain of these assumptions are determined by the Company with the assistance of outside actuaries.  Assumptions are based on past experience and anticipated future trends.  These assumptions are reviewed on a regular basis and revised when appropriate.

The following table provides the change in benefit obligation, change in plan assets, funded status, and amounts recognized in the consolidated balance sheet of the defined benefit pension plans as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 (amounts in thousands):
Change in benefit obligation:20242023
Benefit obligation at beginning of year$77,208 $79,379 
Plan assumption changes(1,809)1,391 
Service cost340 606 
Interest cost3,752 4,331 
Actuarial gain(412)(632)
Benefits paid(8,237)(7,588)
Foreign currency translation(1,190)(279)
Benefit obligation at end of year$69,652 $77,208 
Change in plan assets:  
Fair value of plan assets at beginning of year$82,769 $75,025 
Actual return on plan assets9,733 14,558 
Employer contributions936 442 
Benefits paid(7,214)(7,294)
Foreign currency translation(201)38 
Fair value of plan assets at end of year$86,023 $82,769 
Funded (unfunded) status at end of year$16,371 $5,561 
Amounts recognized in Consolidated Balance Sheet:  
Noncurrent assets$28,352 $19,566 
Current liabilities(1,227)(1,210)
Noncurrent liabilities(10,754)(12,795)
Net amount recognized in the Consolidated Balance Sheet$16,371 $5,561 

The pension benefit obligation included $57.4 million of pension benefit obligation for the three frozen plans in the U.S. and $12.2 million of pension benefit obligation for plans at foreign subsidiaries. The fair value of plan assets included $85.4 million of plan assets for the three frozen plans in the U.S. and $0.6 million of plan assets for foreign plans.

Information for pension plans with accumulated benefit obligations and projected benefit obligations in excess of plan assets were (amounts in thousands):
 20242023
Pension Plans in which Accumulated Benefit Obligation Exceeds Plan Assets at December 31,
  Accumulated benefit obligation$11,778 $44,976 
  Fair value of plan assets$619 $31,903 
Accumulated Benefit Obligation at December 31$69,225 $76,746 
Pension Plans in which Projected Benefit Obligation Exceeds Plan Assets at December 31,
  Projected benefit obligation$12,205 $45,439 
  Fair value of plan assets$619 $31,903 
Projected Benefit Obligation at December 31$69,652 $77,208 
Amounts recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss: 
 202420232022
Unrecognized prior service cost$445 $634 $643 
Unrecognized net loss(3,779)(11,480)(21,091)
Deferred tax effect of unrecognized items6,630 8,518 11,181 
Net amount recognized in accumulated other comprehensive loss$3,296 $(2,328)$(9,267)
The weighted-average assumptions used in the actuarial computation that derived the benefit obligations at December 31 were as follows:202420232022
Discount rate5.7 %5.2 %5.8 %
Expected long-term return on plan assets6.5 %6.5 %6.5 %
 
The following table provides the components of net periodic pension cost for the plans, settlement cost, and the assumptions used in the measurement of the Company’s benefit obligation for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 (amounts in thousands):
Components of net periodic benefit cost and other
amounts recognized in other comprehensive income (loss)		   
Net periodic benefit cost:202420232022
Service cost$340 $606 $590 
Interest cost3,752 4,331 2,872 
Assumed return on assets(5,198)(4,669)(6,071)
Amortization of unrecognized prior service cost(58)(114)(85)
Amortization of net unrecognized loss279 1,004 1,426 
Net periodic pension cost (benefit)$(885)$1,158 $(1,268)

Service cost is recorded as cost of sales in the consolidated statement of operations while all other components are recorded in other income.

The weighted-average assumptions used in the actuarial computation that derived net periodic pension cost for the years ended December 31, 2024, 2023, and 2022 were as follows:
 202420232022
Discount rate4.2 %5.8 %2.7 %
The allocation of the fair value of plan assets was as follows:
 Percentage of Plan Assets
at December 31,		Target
Allocation
Asset Category202420232024
U.S. equities (a)60 %57 %
40% - 80%
Fixed income20 %21 %
20% - 50%
Cash and cash equivalents8 %10 %
0% - 20%
International equities (a)12 %12 %
0% - 16%
 100 %100 % 

(a) Total equities may not exceed 80% of total plan assets.

The majority of the Company's foreign plans do not have plan assets. The foreign plans which have plan assets holds these plan assets in an insurance or money market fund.
The fair value of the plan assets by asset categories consisted of the following as of the dates set forth below (amounts in thousands):
 Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2024
 TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3
Money market funds$6,774 $6,774 $— $— 
Common stock31,271 31,271 — — 
Bonds and securities10,018 10,018 — — 
Mutual and insurance funds37,960 37,101 859 — 
Totals$86,023 $85,164 $859 $— 
 Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2023
 TotalLevel 1Level 2Level 3
Money market funds$8,186 $8,186 $— $— 
Common stock27,658 27,658 — — 
Bonds and securities10,302 10,302 — — 
Mutual and insurance funds36,623 35,828 795 — 
Totals$82,769 $81,974 $795 $— 
    
The Company invests in a diversified portfolio consisting of an array of asset classes in an attempt to maximize returns while minimizing risk.  These asset classes include U.S. equities, fixed income, cash and cash equivalents, international equities and REITs.  The investment objectives are to provide for the growth and preservation of plan assets on a long-term basis through investments in: investment grade securities that provide investment returns that meet or exceed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index and investment grade fixed income securities that provide investment returns that meet or exceed the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index.  The U.S. equities asset category included the Company’s common stock in the amount of $0.6 million (approximately one percent of total plan assets) at December 31, 2024, and $1.9 million (approximately two percent of total plan assets) at December 31, 2023.

The fair value of money market funds, stock, bonds, U.S. government securities and mutual funds is determined based on valuation for identical instruments in active markets.

The long-term rate of return for plan assets is determined using a weighted-average of long-term historical approximate returns on cash and cash equivalents, fixed income securities, and equity securities considering the anticipated investment allocation within the plans.  The expected return on plan assets is anticipated to be 7.0% over the long-term.  This rate assumes long-term historical returns of approximately 8.5% for equities and approximately 4.0% for fixed income securities using the plans’ target allocation percentages.  Professional investment firms, none of which are Titan employees, manage the plan assets.
Based on the 2024 minimum pension funding calculations, the Company does not anticipate any minimum funding requirements.

Projected benefit payments from the plans as of December 31, 2024, are estimated as follows (amounts in thousands):
2025$7,776 
20267,034 
20276,626 
20286,779 
20296,514 
2030-203429,117 

401(k)/Defined contribution plans
The Company sponsors three 401(k) retirement savings plans in the U.S. and a number of defined contribution plans at foreign subsidiaries.  

One U.S. plan is for the benefit of substantially all employees who are not covered by a collective bargaining arrangement.  Titan provides a 50% matching contribution in the form of the Company’s common stock on the first 6% of the employee’s contribution in this plan.  The Company issued 206,050 shares, 144,439 shares and 124,645 shares of common stock in connection with this 401(k) plan during 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.  Expenses to the Company related to this common stock matching contribution were $1.7 million, $1.8 million, and $1.7 million for 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.

The second U.S. plan is for the benefit of Carlstar employees. The Company matches employee contributions in an amount equal to 100% of the first 3% and 50% of the next 2% of the employee’s compensation. The Company incurred $1.5 million related to matching contributions from the date of the acquisition through December 31, 2024.

The third U.S. 401(k) plan is for employees covered by collective bargaining agreements and does not include a Company matching contribution.

Expenses related to foreign defined contribution plans were $3.5 million, $3.7 million, and $4.1 million for 2024, 2023, and 2022, respectively.