A two-week curtailment is taking place at a prominent sawmill in the Nechako Valley.
The Conifex Timber mill in Fort St. James is reducing its production by 15% for the final quarter of the year due to current log costs, market conditions, and deteriorating log quality thanks to the mountain pine beetle.
“We are working on a priority basis to position Fort St. James for long-term sustainable production in the lower lumber price, higher log cost environment we envisage for the balance of 2018 and 2019 and will be seeking to mitigate the impacts on our employees as much as possible,” said Conifex Chair and CEO Ken Shields in a statement.
The current reduction started on Monday and will end on November 26th.
An additional curtailment is being planned around Christmas.
We’ve reached out to Conifex for further comment, but they’ve yet to respond.