Fort St. John Sawmill affected by December curtailment

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The Fort St. John Sawmill is one of multiple facilities across British Columbia and Alberta that will be affected by Canfor’s curtailments in December.

According to Canfor, all its lumber mills in B.C. and Alberta will pause operations for three non-statutory days during the holiday week between Christmas and New Year’s due to the ongoing weak market conditions and the lack of available fibre.

Three of Canfor’s manufacturing facilities, including the one in Fort St. John, will take an additional week of downtime in advance of Christmas.

Canfor says wood product sales are linked heavily to residential construction, and it is currently a seasonally slow period for lumber demand.

The low demand, current inflation pressure and high mortgage interest rates affect home builders’ demand for lumber.

At the beginning of November, Canfor reported a third-quarter operating loss of $65 million, including a $49 million operating loss from the pulp business.