Canfor to Shut Two Northern B.C. Sawmills

The above closures are likely to impact approximately 500 employees.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Canfor Corporation announced the closure of its Plateau and Fort St. John sawmills in northern British Columbia (B.C). The decision was made after a careful analysis of the business environment, which included the weak lumber markets, continuous financial difficulties, increased US tariffs, and the difficulty of acquiring economic fiber.

The above closures are likely to impact approximately 500 employees. In addition, it will remove nearly 670 million board feet of annual production capacity from the company’s B.C. operations.

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Announcing the decision, Don Kayne, President and CEO, of Canfor Corporation said that the company has proudly operated in the province for more than 85 years. It has always been equipped to handle difficult market circumstances. However, its B.C. operations have run into huge losses in recent years, mainly due to increasing regulatory complexity, soaring operating costs, and inability to access economically viable timber to support the smooth operations of its manufacturing facilities, he added.

The operating challenges have been further exacerbated by the recently announced punitive U.S. tariffs. The continued operation under these conditions would put additional operations at risk.

The wind-down of operations at the above facilities is expected to be completed by the end of the current year.

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