The possibility of restarting the shuttered Rustad Bros. sawmill in Prince George is being evaluated on a quarterly basis, but the company must see sustained lumber demand in the U.S. before making a decision, Canfor said Tuesday.
"It's the same usual thing. We need real clear demand indicators and sustained market demand supported by price in order to make the number work for any mill," said Canfor spokesperson Christine Kennedy.
She noted that while there has been good success in building a lumber market in China, demand in the U.S. residential market is not picking up.
U.S. housing starts are tracking at an annualized rate of 500,000, well back from its normalized level of 1.2 million to 1.4 million.
Canfor has restarted some of its sawmills on the back of Chinese demand, and Kennedy said they also continue to watch the numbers there.
Canfor is taking a similar evaluation strategy at its plywood and oriented strand board plants in Fort Nelson, in the northeastern corner of the province.
Kennedy said a key in China is for wood products to break into residential construction, which would also increase demand for the panel products produced in Fort Nelson.
So far, lumber is largely being used concrete forming, value-added manufacturing, and in some roofing.
The Rustad Bros. sawmill has been closed down for two years, the Fort Nelson plants even longer.
The United Steelworkers has raised concerns that workers are looking for more clear cut answers on whether the shuttered plants will re-open.
