Tough market forces shutdown for Canfor sawmills

 

Lumber producer Canfor announced that it will curtail operations at all British Columbia sawmills, except its WynnWood facility.

The majority of mills will be curtailed for two weeks or the equivalent, with extended curtailments of four weeks at Houston and Plateau, and six weeks at Mackenzie, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based company said. The curtailments are scheduled to run from June 17 through July 26.

Canfor said poor lumber markets and the high cost of fiber are making operating conditions in British Columbia uneconomic. The curtailments will reduce Canfor’s production output by approximately 200 million board feet.

Last week the company announced that it was closing its mill in Vavenby, British Columbia this July.

Following the closure Canfor will have 12 sawmills in Canada, with total annual capacity of approximately 3.55 billion board feet.

Market conditions forced Canfor to curtail operations at several mills this past winter.