West Fraser Timber announced that in response to the flooding situation in British Columbia (B.C.), Canada, it is providing the following update on operating conditions.
West Fraser has reduced operating schedules at multiple western Canadian locations and will continue to make such adjustments as necessary in order to manage inventory levels, raw material supplies and its integrated fibre supply chain. At the current time, it is not possible to estimate when full transportation services will resume or when the backlogs resulting from the interruptions will be cleared.
In recent weeks, severe weather and flooding in B.C. has caused transportation disruptions to rail and truck routes, including limiting access to ports for overseas shipments. In the second half of November, following the weather event that led to road and rail closures, the Company’s western Canadian lumber weekly shipments have declined by approximately 25%-30%. In addition, our pulp shipments to the port of Vancouver, from where the majority of our export pulp ships, have averaged less than 20% of normal volumes.
While West Fraser is utilizing alternative transportation routes and methods to the extent they are available to continue servicing customers, the magnitude and duration of the impact from current weather events remains uncertain.
West Fraser is a diversified wood products company with more than 60 facilities in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe.
