Canadian lumber production increased by 3.1% from January to 3,930 thousand m3 in February, but was still down by 9.8% compared to February 2022. Sawmills shipped 3,616 thousand m3 of lumber in February, a decrease of 1.8% from January and 3.1% lower compared to February 2022.
In January to March 2023, Canada's exports of lumber declined by 5.0% y-o-y to 7,686 thousand m3. The value of exports also dropped by 52% to $1,572 million, and the average price of lumber decreased by 49% to $205 per m3, according to Lesprom Analytics.
BC mills have been hit the hardest, with at least 1.7 billion board feet of announced capacity curtailments in 2022 and additional mill closures in the first quarter of 2023. Russ Taylor Global notes that the closures are mostly a result of increased log prices and falling lumber prices, along with government policies that are impacting the industry. BC mills accounted for around 70% of North America's curtailments in Q1 2023, with the rest of Canada's production remaining flat in January.
