Back in March of last year, Republic Steel announced it would restart production at its Lorain facility in response to steel and aluminum import tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. Now, we have a better idea as to when that will take place.
Republic Steel on Tuesday issued a statement saying it "anticipates" the rolling mill to be up and running once again some time during the second quarter of 2019. The company says it had planned to start production this past December, but delays came about as "imports remain at historically high levels for products produced on this mill."
The company said the move would eventually bring 1,000 jobs to the area, and that more than 60 people have already been hired and trained to this point. In addition, the plant has "undergone a complete refurbishment."
Republic, headquartered in Canton, says the 9-to-10-inch Lorain mill has capacity of 35,000 tons per month.