Canfor's latest decision to permanently close the Northwood pulp mill removes another 300,000 tonnes of annual NBSK capacity from the market and costs roughly 300 jobs. The announcement cites weak pulp prices and difficult market conditions, but those pressures alone do not explain why another Prince George mill is disappearing.<\/p>\n
The deeper issue is fibre. For years, British Columbia's forest industry has been producing fewer logs while its processing capacity has remained largely unchanged. Every sawmill closure means fewer residual wood chips for pulp producers. Every reduction in allowable harvests tightens an already constrained fibre basket. Wildfires, the mountain pine beetle and changing forest policy have all contributed to the same outcome: less wood moving through the system.<\/p>\n
Northwood became one of the casualties. Unlike integrated pulp operations supplied by their own sawmills, standalone pulp mills depend heavily on residual chips from lumber production. As sawmills across central and northern British Columbia reduced shifts or shut permanently, chip availability tightened and prices increased. What was once an efficient manufacturing chain has become increasingly expensive to sustain.<\/p>\n
That pressure arrived just as the global pulp market turned against higher-cost producers. Over the past three years, millions of tonnes of new hardwood pulp capacity have entered the market, primarily from Brazil, where fast-growing plantations, lower fibre costs and modern mills have reshaped global supply. The additional production has weighed on pulp prices, squeezing producers operating with significantly higher wood costs.<\/p>\n
For Canadian mills, the timing could hardly have been worse. Higher fibre costs, weaker pulp prices and rising operating expenses have combined to erode margins across the sector. Several mills have already been curtailed or permanently closed in British Columbia, with Prince George becoming one of the regions most heavily affected by the industry's restructuring.<\/p>\n
Canfor described Northwood as suffering from \"unsustainable financial losses,\" adding that it sees no foreseeable improvement in market conditions. The company is unlikely to be the last facing that conclusion.<\/p>\n
The BC Council of Forest Industries responded to the closure by urging both provincial and federal governments to act on recommendations from the Forest Sector Transformation Task Force, arguing that predictable access to fibre has become essential if existing manufacturing capacity is to survive.<\/p>\n
That point is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. While demand for wood products is expected to recover eventually, fibre cannot be replaced as easily. Without reliable log supplies, sawmills produce fewer chips, pulp mills lose their raw material and costs continue to rise throughout the value chain.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Canfor’s latest decision to permanently close the Northwood pulp mill removes another 300,000 tonnes of annual NBSK capacity from the market and costs roughly 300 jobs. The announcement cites weak pulp prices and difficult market conditions, but those pressures alone … Continue reading