In Canada, forest products major Canfor Corporation has announced that it will be temporarily curtailing sawmill operations in British Columbia (BC) during Q4 2018 due to log supply constraints, log costs, and current market conditions. The curtailment is expected to reduce Canfor’s BC production output by approximately 10 percent throughout the quarter.
According to a statement on November 1, lumber production will be reduced over the quarter through a decrease in operating days. This will be achieved through immediate short-term curtailments at some facilities, along with extended downtime at Christmas.
We have made the difficult decision to curtail our BC sawmill operations over the fourth quarter due to log supply challenges following another difficult wildfire season, uncompetitive log costs and declining lumber prices. We are working to mitigate impacts on our employees as much as possible, said Don Kayne, President, and CEO of Canfor.
Canfor has 13 sawmills in Canada, with a total annual capacity of approximately 3.8 billion board feet (≈ 8.97 million m3). In BC the company has wood pellet joint ventures with its sawmill operations in Houston with Pinnacle Renewable Holdings and in Chetwynd and Fort St John, both with Pacific BioEnergy.