12. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

12. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The fair value amounts for cash and equivalents, accounts receivable, net, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate carrying amounts due to the short maturities of these instruments. The estimated fair value of our long-term debt and capital lease obligations at December 31, 2011 and December 31, 2010 was based on

expected future payments discounted using current interest rates offered to us on debt of the same remaining maturity and characteristics, including credit quality, and did not vary materially from carrying value.

Fair value is defined as an exit price representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability at the measurement date in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy as a basis for such assumptions which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value as follows:

· Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;

· Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and

· Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability in which there is little or no market data.

Recurring Fair Value Measurement

For the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010, we have no assets and liabilities that are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. As of December 31, 2010, our interest rate swaps have all expired, and no balance is carried on our consolidated balance sheet.

Non-recurring Fair Value Measurement

We are required to record certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a nonrecurring basis. Generally, assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a nonrecurring basis are the result of impairment charges.

During the year ended December 31, 2010, we measured certain non-financial assets at fair value due to impairment made necessary by market conditions. The following table depicts the non-recurring fair value measurements discussed below by asset category and the level within the fair value hierarchy in which the related assumptions were derived (in thousands):

	December 31, 2010
	Fair Value	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Total Losses
Land, building and improvements
	$1,893	$       —	$1,893	$       —	$   322
Total	$1,893	$       —	$1,893	$       —	$   322

During the year ended December 31, 2010, we wrote down one of our facilities in Europe with a carrying amount of $2.2 million, including land, building and improvements, to its fair value of $1.9 million, based on quoted prices for similar assets in the market.