- Joined
- Mar 24, 2009
- Messages
- 16,743
Canfor Corp. announced the indefinite closure of three Interior B.C. sawmills Wednesday, laying off 570 workers at mills in the town of Vavenby, Radium and Prince George.
The shutdowns are expected to be completed by June or July and will bring Canfor`s lumber production down to about 2.5 billion board feet a year, half the company`s total rated capacity of 4.9 billion board feet.
"These decisions are never easy but are taken in the face of a market downturn that is unprecedented in terms of both duration and intensity," said Canfor president Jim Shepard in a news release. "Canfor must continue to re-structure its production capabilities to match the demands of the market and ensure the needs of key customers continue to be met."
Canfor has already curtailed three wood products operations and curtailed shifts at other to reduce its lumber capacity.
The three mills affected by Thursday`s decision will not re-open until a sustained turnaround in the market takes place, said Canfor spokesman Dave Lefebvre.
Rumours of the mill closures were circulating for two days before Canfor made the announcement and were a factor in pushing lumber futures up more than 10 per cent over the last two days on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The futures uptick was not something that Lefebvre said could be considered a sustained turnaround.
Other factors in the jump in lumber prices are the high-flying Canadian dollar, which is trading near 90 cents US and the looming expiration of the labour contract between employers and the United Steelworkers. It expires June 30, in the midst of one toughest lumber market in memory, raising concerns that the Interior supply could be disrupted.
In a report issued Thursday, economist Henry Spelter, of the U.S. Forest Service`s Forest Products Laboratory, said the expiry of labour contracts in the Interior is raising concerns about future shipments.
"Talks are likely to be contentious in the current economy," he said. "Recently some firms had asked for wage concessions, which were rejected, much to the firms` indignation.
"But wage concessions make no sense from a union viewpoint without an offsetting guarantee against lay offs."
Bob Matters, wood council president for the United Steelworkers Union, said neither side has exchanged formal proposals.
"Employers have asked during the term of the current agreement, as early as 2007, to do certain things but we have said `Thanks but no thanks` each time."
Read the full article here.
The shutdowns are expected to be completed by June or July and will bring Canfor`s lumber production down to about 2.5 billion board feet a year, half the company`s total rated capacity of 4.9 billion board feet.
"These decisions are never easy but are taken in the face of a market downturn that is unprecedented in terms of both duration and intensity," said Canfor president Jim Shepard in a news release. "Canfor must continue to re-structure its production capabilities to match the demands of the market and ensure the needs of key customers continue to be met."
Canfor has already curtailed three wood products operations and curtailed shifts at other to reduce its lumber capacity.
The three mills affected by Thursday`s decision will not re-open until a sustained turnaround in the market takes place, said Canfor spokesman Dave Lefebvre.
Rumours of the mill closures were circulating for two days before Canfor made the announcement and were a factor in pushing lumber futures up more than 10 per cent over the last two days on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The futures uptick was not something that Lefebvre said could be considered a sustained turnaround.
Other factors in the jump in lumber prices are the high-flying Canadian dollar, which is trading near 90 cents US and the looming expiration of the labour contract between employers and the United Steelworkers. It expires June 30, in the midst of one toughest lumber market in memory, raising concerns that the Interior supply could be disrupted.
In a report issued Thursday, economist Henry Spelter, of the U.S. Forest Service`s Forest Products Laboratory, said the expiry of labour contracts in the Interior is raising concerns about future shipments.
"Talks are likely to be contentious in the current economy," he said. "Recently some firms had asked for wage concessions, which were rejected, much to the firms` indignation.
"But wage concessions make no sense from a union viewpoint without an offsetting guarantee against lay offs."
Bob Matters, wood council president for the United Steelworkers Union, said neither side has exchanged formal proposals.
"Employers have asked during the term of the current agreement, as early as 2007, to do certain things but we have said `Thanks but no thanks` each time."
Read the full article here.