Canfor Corp. Announces Major Production Halt at All But One of its B.C. Sawmills

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The production curtailments at northern British Columbia saw mills seem to have no ending soon. This time around, Canfor Corp. has decided to significantly curtail production capacity at almost all of its provincial locations.

According to press release issued by Canfor, it has decided to curtail productions temporarily at all B.C. sawmills, except WynnWood. The majority of production curtailments will extend up to two weeks. The Houston and Plateau sawmills will see curtailments of for weeks. Also, the company plans six-week curtailment at Mackenzie mill. The announced production cuts are likely to run from June 17 to July 26. Consequently, the B.C. lumber production will be reduced by approximately 200 million board feet by end of July.

The statement further notes that the curtailments are due to poor lumber markets and high cost of fibre, which has made operations in the province uneconomic.

The production curtailments by various saw mills comes barely a week after the announcement to permanently close the Vavenby sawmill in B.C. According to sources, the company has already started winding down its operations at the mill. All the 172 unionized employees shall be terminated in a staggered manner depending on the role of job handled by them.

Canfor Corp. now has 12 operating sawmills in Canada, with an estimated production capacity of around 36.55 billion board feet per annum.