BRITISH COLUMBIA - British Columbia-based Sinclar Group Forest Products will shut down production at three of its sawmills for two weeks, beginning August 19.
“As a long-standing, family-run company, rooted and operating in north central B.C., the decision we’ve had to make today was not an easy one,” said Sinclar Group President Greg Stewart. “We’ve deferred the decision as long as possible, due to our commitment to our employees and communities.”
Just like other curtailed Canadian sawmills, Stewart blamed high log costs and challenging global market conditions. The temporary shutdowns will affect Sinclar’s sawmill operations at Lakeland Mills in Prince George, Nechako Lumber in Vanderhoof, and Apollo Forest Products in Fort St. James. Total production will be reduced by a combined 25 million board feet.
Sinclair runs three primary sawmills and two secondary value-added mills across British Columbia.
Sinclar Group Forest Products operates three primary mills (sawmills and planer mills) and two secondary (value-added) mills in the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada. Sinclar operations include Apollo Forest Products (Fort St. James), Nechako Lumber Co. (Vanderhoof), Lakeland Mills (Prince George), Winton Homes & Cottages (Prince George) and Premium Pellet (Vanderhoof).
Many Canadian sawmills are struggling. British Columbia - Canada's largest lumber-producing province - exported just over 514 million board feet of lumber to the U.S. in October 2018, down from 645 million board feet from the same time 2017. Many Canadian lumber leaders have taken a hit - including West Fraser, Canfor, Conifex, and Interfor - and restricted lumber production, with West Fraser and Canfor curtailing production more than once.
All cited challenging lumber markets, high log costs, log supply constraints, falling lumber prices, and U.S. import tariffs as factors.
Softwood lumber import tariffs of around 21 percent were levied onto Canada last year. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) told MarketWatch that those tariffs are restructuring the entire lumber global supply chain - incentivizing U.S. buyers to import from overseas rather than ship lumber across the Canadian border.
Canada's imports to the U.S. have certainly slipped, as we've covered before. British Columbia - Canada's largest lumber-producing province - exported just over 514 million board feet of lumber to the U.S. in October 2018, down from 645 million board feet from the same time 2017.
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