Canfor cutting production even further due to COVID-19

Photo: The Canadian Press

Cedar planks are stacked at a lumber yard, Tuesday, April 25, 2017 in Montreal. Canfor Corp. says it is making additional cuts to its production capacity due to the impact of COVID-19 on the price of lumber and demand. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

Forestry company Canfor Corp. is making additional production cuts due to the impact of COVID-19 on the price of lumber and demand.

The company says the effective April 13 that its Canadian lumber production will be curtailed by approximately 100 million board feet through to May 1.

The cuts will result in a total production run rate of about 30 per cent as it takes downtime at the majority of its sawmills in B.C.

The company says Canfor Southern Pine in the U.S. and the its Swedish facilities will continue to operate at less than full capacity with variable operating schedules and down time.

The announcement follows cuts by Canfor to Canadian lumber production of about 70 million board feet on March 26.

Canfor says it will continue to assess operating rates on a weekly basis and will adjust as needed.