Lumber mills are being forced to close temporarily due to lack of demand, as the industry recovers from the worst hit in its history.
After a rebound from January to April, the lumber market is down again, and some mills are shutting down and waiting for demand to catch back up.
Mills in Glendale, Noti and Springfield will be shut down for a week starting Memorial Day, a decision that will affect 110 employees.
Housing starts last year were 554,000 units, the lowest annual total since 1945, according to the Western Wood Products Association.
“This year we’ll be lucky to get 700,000 starts,” [Swanson Group President Steve Swanson] said. “My personal belief is that it will be at least a year before starts break over 1 million, and to get back to 1.5 million housing starts is going to take a number of years. We don’t anticipate adding any shifts until this time next year.”
Read the whole story at the Register-Guard.
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