More interior mills are being impacted by U.S. duties and a shortage of fibre.
Brink Forest Products announced Thursday it will close its value-added wood products mill operations temporarily, from Dec. 11 to Jan. 6, affecting 75 employees in Prince George, Vanderhoof, and Houston.
The company cites American duties, provincial policies and a shortage of economic fibre as the reasons for the shut downs.
Owner John Brink said the company has reduced production over the past six months started when the U.S. imposed a 45 per cent duty on lumber headed south. About 90 per cent of the finger-jointed lumber the company produces heads to the States.
Without a forest licence, Brink Forest Products relies on area mills for its raw material. With more area mills closing, that fibre supply has dwindled.
