Aug 15, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Pope & Talbot, Inc announced on August 14, 2007 a two week shutdown for saw mills located in Grand Forks, British Columbia, and Castlegar, British Columbia. The mills, producers of high-quality softwood lumber products, will be shut down beginning August 20 through September 3 to reduce finished goods inventories. Pope and Talbot CEO Harold Stanton said the move was necessary due to the falling prices of softwood lumber products brought on by the downturn in the US housing market. "The poor softwood lumber market has led to a situation where it is not profitable for us to run at normal capacity," said Mr. Stanton. "Moving forward, we will continue to make adjustments as the market dictates." Pope & Talbot is a pulp and wood products business. The company is based in Portland, Oregon and trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Pope & Talbot was founded in 1849 and produces market pulp and softwood lumber at mills in the US and Canada. Markets for the company's products include the US, Europe, Canada, South America and the Pacific Rim.