Canfor’s Sawmills and Taylor Pulp Mill in BC Hit by Supply Chain Crisis

March 30, 2022 - Canfor Corporation today announced that it will implement reduced operating schedules at its Western Canadian sawmills (in British Columbia, Canada) effective April 4, 2022 due to the cumulative effects of the unprecedented global supply chain crisis that has been ongoing for several months.

The reduced operating schedules will remain in effect for a minimum of four weeks and the company will continue to assess and make adjustments to operating schedules as supply chain conditions evolve.

"We are experiencing extreme supply chain challenges that are significantly impacting our operations and it has become imperative to reduce operating schedules to address our unsustainable inventory levels. We regret the impact that the reduced operating schedules will have on our employees, contractors and communities and we will make efforts to mitigate the negative effects," said Don Kayne, President and CEO, Canfor. "We will continue to leverage our global operating platform to minimize disruptions in supply to our customers."

It is anticipated that the reduced operating schedules will impact production capacity by a minimum of 100 million board feet.

Taylor Pulp Mill

A day earlier, Canfor Pulp announced a minimum six-week extension of the curtailment of BCTMP production at Taylor Pulp due to the ongoing transportation shortages that have resulted in continued high finished product inventories at the pulp mill.

In mid-February, Canfor Pulp said that it was forced to curtail the production of BCTMP at the Taylor mill for six weeks due to lack of transportation to ship product and inventories at the mill reaching capacity. The first six-week curtailment reduced the mill's production by about 25,000 tonnes.

"Unfortunately, the ongoing rail transportation situation has not improved, and we have no choice but to extend the current production curtailment," said Kevin Anderson, VP Operations, Canfor Pulp. "We are very disappointed in the ongoing impact this is having on our employees, their families and the community."

The curtailment extension will further reduce the production of BCTMP by at least 25,000 tonnes.

SOURCE: Canfor