American Railcar Industries Inc. (ARI) announced that Ohio Castings' board of directors approved a plan to restart production at its railcar castings facility in Alliance, Ohio. A

"We are very excited to announce the plan to resume production at Ohio Castings," said President/ CEO James Cowan. "The decision to restart production was based primarily on strengthening demand for new railcars. We expect this decision will prove beneficial as we ramp up railcar production in the second half of 2011."

Ohio Castings was temporarily idled in June 2009 due to weak demand in the new railcar market. Over the past several months, ARI has seen an increase in new railcar quotes, orders and backlog. In response to the increase in demand, Ohio Castings is expected to begin shipping castings during the third quarter of 2011.

ARI is a one-third owner of Ohio Castings, which provides ARI and the other partners access to railcar castings at a favorable price, according to the company.

Railcar castings, which historically have been subject to supply constraints, are a critical railcar component.