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Skeena Sawmills shuts down log deliveries temporarily

Skeena Sawmills has announced that it has stopped taking log deliveries at its Terrace, B.C. facility as of January 6, for a period of three weeks.

Sawmill and chipping operations will continue to run out the inventory on site for the remainder of January. The reopening of the log scales will be evaluated at the end of the month and will be dependent on improved economic conditions.

“The ongoing current high-cost economic environment has continued to put pressures on our operating margins” said Greg DeMille, Skeena’s chief operating officer.

“Over the past month there have been several curtail announcements from major forestry companies. Skeena is not immune to the same pressures that the rest of the industry is under including high operating costs, limited secure fibre availability, and adjusting government policy pressures on permitting and fibre access. When combined these pressures create very challenging operating conditions.” DeMille added.

In a statement, the company said strong market conditions and economic fibre access are critical for Skeena to continue to operate at current levels and provide the conditions necessary for success as the Northwest region has very high operating costs and challenging fibre quality.

Skeena remains committed to investing in its facilities over the next few years and is hopeful that conditions will improve in the near term, the statement said.