Oregon timber company DR Johnson may shut down Wallowa Forest Products sawmill forever

Aug 30, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. The Oregon timber company DR Johnson temporarily shut down the Wallowa Forest Products sawmill in July, and now the company says it may close the plant forever. The Wallowa Forest Products sawmill employed 58 workers, OPB News reported. This summer, the housing market slumped and the price of Canadian lumber grew more and more affordable. That, says DR Johnson Lumber representatives, meant the company needed to find ways to cut costs. The company's revenues total between $150 million and $250 million a year, according to Oregon Business Magazine. So the company temporarily shut down five sawmills. The mills in Riddle, Roseburg, and Prairie City are all back online. But John Day and Wallowa are still closed, and may never come back.