Titan reports net loss in second quarter

QUINCY, Ill. (July 31)—Tire and wheel maker Titan International Inc. posted a net loss of $8.19 million during the second quarter on net sales of $131 million, the company announced July 31. The Quincy-based firm reported earnings of $383,000 on sales of $125.8 million in the same period last year. Costs associated with the consolidation of tire production at its Brownsville, Texas, facility, into its Des Moines, Iowa, plant totaled $3.4 million in the second quarter. Titan also was hit with costs of about $4.8 million because of higher raw material prices and increased employee benefit and insurance expenses. For the first six months of 2003, the company posted a loss of $14.1 million on sales of $260 million.