Several US wood-processing companies have announced plant closures, production suspensions and workforce reductions since early September, affecting sawmills, wood-based panel production and furniture manufacturing. The latest decisions involve facilities in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina and Indiana.<\/p>\n
Among the latest announcements is the closure of Marks Lumber, a family-owned sawmill in Clancy, Montana, which will end sawing operations on November 6 after more than 75 years in business.<\/p>\n
The company will stop accepting special-cut orders on October 20 and continue selling finished products from existing inventory during the remainder of 2026 and into 2027. The final closure date will depend on how quickly those stocks are sold.<\/p>\n
Marks Lumber produces Douglas fir flooring, siding, timbers and other specialty products. Its decision comes as the business faces increasing operating expenses and difficulties securing timber supplies, alongside the owners' retirement plans.<\/p>\n
In neighbouring Wyoming, Bearlodge Forest Products will close its sawmill and pallet manufacturing operations in Hulett on October 31, ending nearly five decades of activity.<\/p>\n
The company cited higher production costs, labour shortages, limited housing availability and weak product prices. Its closure affects both lumber processing and industrial pallet manufacturing.<\/p>\n
Another western US sawmill, Montrose Forest Products in Colorado, is facing possible closure after its parent company, Neiman Enterprises, failed to secure a buyer.<\/p>\n
A notice filed in September warned that approximately 90 employees could lose their jobs. The company has invested more than $60 million in the facility since acquiring it in 2012, but timber supply difficulties and operating costs have affected its future.<\/p>\n
The shutdown has not been confirmed, with the company continuing to examine possible alternatives.<\/p>\n
OSB production suspended in Texas<\/strong><\/p>\n The reductions extend beyond conventional sawmilling.<\/p>\n LP Building Solutions announced in September that it would indefinitely suspend OSB production at its Jasper, Texas, facility beginning in October.<\/p>\n The plant has annual production capacity of approximately 475 million square feet on a 3\/8-inch basis. Around 150 employees are affected by the decision.<\/p>\n LP attributed the suspension to weak OSB demand and said it would continue evaluating market conditions before deciding whether production could resume.<\/p>\n The company also considered operating costs, capital requirements and logistics when reviewing the facility.<\/p>\n The decision removes a substantial amount of available OSB manufacturing capacity from active production, although the shutdown has been described as indefinite rather than permanent.<\/p>\n Cabinet manufacturers reduce US production<\/strong><\/p>\n The latest announcements also include manufacturing reductions in the US furniture and cabinetry industry.<\/p>\n At the end of September, MasterBrand Cabinets announced plans to discontinue its Value Semi-Custom cabinet operations at its Kinston facility in North Carolina.<\/p>\n The restructuring will affect approximately 390 employees, with the first layoffs scheduled for late November. Around 180 employees are expected to remain at the site as other operations continue.<\/p>\n Part of the production will be transferred to facilities in three other states.<\/p>\n The decision is connected to MasterBrand's manufacturing network review following its merger with American Woodmark.<\/p>\n A further reduction was announced in Indiana, where American Woodmark is eliminating assembly operations at its Gas City facility.<\/p>\n According to a notice dated October 5, up to 207 employees will be permanently laid off between December 5, 2026, and January 8, 2027.<\/p>\n The Indiana facility is not necessarily closing in its entirety, but the assembly operation will be discontinued.<\/p>\n Together, the Kinston and Gas City announcements affect approximately 597 positions across the two manufacturing operations.<\/p>\n Different causes behind the reductions<\/strong><\/p>\n The recent decisions involve different parts of the wood products industry and cannot be attributed to a single market factor.<\/p>\n In the western states, timber availability, labour costs and the economics of smaller sawmills remain important issues. The closure of Bearlodge also affects pallet production, while Marks Lumber's decision includes the retirement of its owners.<\/p>\n For OSB producers, demand from the construction sector remains a central consideration. LP's decision in Texas was explicitly linked to current market conditions and the need to adjust output.<\/p>\n In cabinetry, the recent reductions are partly connected to manufacturing consolidation following the MasterBrand and American Woodmark merger, rather than solely to declining product demand.<\/p>\n The announcements nevertheless show that production adjustments are continuing across several US wood-processing sectors. Some facilities are preparing to close permanently, others are suspending operations, while larger manufacturers are transferring production between existing plants.<\/p>\n The developments come at a time when new wood-processing investments are also proceeding in other parts of the country, particularly in the US South, leaving regional manufacturing conditions increasingly uneven.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Several US wood-processing companies have announced plant closures, production suspensions and workforce reductions since early September, affecting sawmills, wood-based panel production and furniture manufacturing.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":100250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n