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Canfor to operate B.C. sawmills at 80 per cent of production capacity

Reduced operating schedules to start week of Aug. 30 due to challenging market conditions
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An aerial view of Canfor’s Plateau operation west of Vanderhoof. (Aman Parhar photo - Omineca Express)

Canfor will be clawing back production capacity at its B.C. sawmills by 20 per cent starting next week.

The lumber giant, which operates sawmills across the province including Vanderhoof, Prince George, Chetwynd, Fort St. John, Houston, Elko and Radium Hot Springs, made the announcement Tuesday, Aug. 24 with the exception of its WynnWood operation in the central Kootenays.

Read More: Fort St. James Mayor worried about potential downfalls when hot lumber market cools

Operating schedules may continue to vary as economic conditions warrant, according to a company news release.

“Due to challenging market conditions, we are implementing reduced operating schedules at our B.C. sawmills that will remain in place until demand and pricing meaningfully improve,” said Stephen Mackie, executive vice president of North American operations.

“We recognize the impact that volatile lumber markets have on our employees, contractors and communities and we will make efforts to mitigate the negative effects. We will also leverage our global operating platform to minimize disruptions in supply to our customers.”

Short-term production curtailments due to wildfires were announced at Canfor sawmills across Canada last month, resulting in the the curtailing of approximately 115 million board feet of production during the third quarter of 2021.

Read More: Short-term production curtailments for Canfor’s Canadian sawmills due to wildfires



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