Canfor Won't Rule Out Further Downtime

By 250 News

As the Plateau Mill in Vanderhoof prepares for  three weeks downtime, the  Senior Vice President of Operations for Canfor, Patrick (Patch) Bonkemeyer says he cannot rule out further downtown in the second quarter.  "If you can tell me  what the  exchange rate is going to be or the demand for lumber, I could tell you".

Plateau is set  for three weeks of downtime  starting on Monday, and carrying through to  the 25th.  The planer will continue to operate for one and a half weeks of that downtime.

Canfor figures that will reduce the supply by  about 25 million board feet.  That is in addition to the  52 million board feet that  was held off the market  in the first quarter through various curtailments.

The  declining demand from the U.S. market , the  strong Canadian dollar and the 15% export tax are all factors taken into consideration for the curtailments, but Bonkemeyer won't say if this is the only one  that will take place in the next couple of months "We have to look at the impact on the communities, the employees, and our customers, but I can't rule anything out" .

Canfor hast just reported a  net loss in the first quarter of $42.7 million dollars.

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