VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Forest products company Canfor will cut production at sawmills in Western Canada because of “extreme supply chain challenges” relating to rail service, the news site Business in Vancouver reports.
Subsidiary Canfor Pulp Produces had previously announced it would continue to curtail production at its plant in Taylor, B.C., for at least six weeks because of rail problems and a backlog of inventory.
“Unfortunately, the ongoing rail transportation situation has not improved, and we have no choice but to extend the current production curtailment,” said Kevin Anderson, vice president of operations at Canfor Pulp, according to the news site. “We are very disappointed in the ongoing impact this is having on our employees, their families, and the community.”
In a press release, Canfor said it would reduce production by a minimum of 100 million board feet. CEO Don Kayne said the supply chain issues are “significantly impacting our operations and it has become imperative to reduce operating schedules to address our unsustainable inventory levels.”
In addition to global problems in the supply chain, rail operations in British Columbia has been disrupted by fires in summer 2021, severe flooding that closed lines in November and December [see “Rail service in British Columbia halted by flooding,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 16, 2021], and most recently, a brief shutdown of Canadian Pacific in a labor dispute.
One of the world’s largest timber products companies, Canfor had sales of C$7.68 billion in 2021 and a net income of C$1.46 billion.
Fires, floods, Can Locusts be expected?
We’ve already been dealing with the forest version of a locust plague for years. Look up the mountain pine beetle.