Canfor Corp. Declares Temporary Curtailment of Operations at B.C. Mills

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Canfor Corporation has announced temporary curtailment of operations at all of its B.C. dimension mills. The planned curtailment will be in effect from April 29^th.  Extremely low lumber prices and high cost of fibre are cited as the primary reasons for the curtailment. The decision is likely to reduce the company’s lumber output by approximately 100 million board feet.

According to sources, the temporary closures are likely to translate into a week of downtime for all of Canfor’s B.C. sawmills. The Mackenzie operation will have additional one week downtime, the company noted. Canfor hopes that shrinking supply may lead to recovery in prices. The ongoing decline in demand for lumber from the U.S. has been driving down the prices. At the same time, costs have escalated, mainly due to gradual drop in harvest levels.

It must be noted that operations of three of the B.C. mills located in Vavenby, Houston and Mackenzie were earlier curtailed for a period of six weeks starting from 11^th February to 22^nd March this year.