Conifex Timber Glenwood Sawmill Announces Reduction of Operations to One Shift

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Conifex Timber Inc. announced its decision to implement temporary production curtailment at its Glenwood, Arkansas sawmill. The mill has moved to one shift effective June 17, 2019. The curtailment, for an indefinite period, is mainly on account of aggravating log supply shortages and prolonged poor market conditions. The decision is expected to affect the company’s US South lumber production by approximately 4 million board feet in Q2 this year.

Earlier in June this year, Conifex had decided to implement one shift operations at its El Dorado sawmill, as part of efforts to optimize and upgrade operations in the wake of poor market conditions. This action was estimated to cause an impact of around 5 million board feet in U.S. South lumber production during the second quarter of 2019. Also, it had curtailed operations at its Fort James and Mackenzie sawmills for a period of four weeks and three weeks respectively, effective May 6^th.

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Nearly six wood manufacturing facilities have announced either a mill closure or shift reduction during the past seven months. The latest in the series is West Fraser, which announced yesterday, that it intends to permanently close its Chasm lumber mill and eliminate the third shift from its 100 Mile House lumber mill during the third quarter of 2019. The company cited insufficient timber supply among several other reasons for the decision.