Sep 21, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Canfor Corp. has cut a deal to buy Chesterfield Lumber Co. of Darlington, S.C., for $18-million (U.S.), Canadian Press reported. The Chesterfield mill has an annual capacity of 140 million board feet of southern yellow pine. It is between two mills owned by Canfor subsidiary New South Cos. at Conway and Camden in South Carolina. The acquisition of Chesterfield increases Canfor's production in the U.S. South by one-third to 565 million board feet per year, observed Desjardins Securities analyst Pierre Lacroix. He noted that American sawmills will represent 11% of the company's lumber capacity, with the rest mostly from Alberta and British Columbia. “We believe that this acquisition will have a positive impact on Canfor in the long run, as the company diversifies away from the Canadian dollar, the pine beetle and the import tax,” Mr. Lacroix wrote in a note. “However, the near-term impact should be neutral, given that the lumber business remains generally unprofitable at the present time.” He rates Canfor a sell, with a target price of CAD 11.75 ($11.75). Canfor has interests in 33 forest-products plants in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, Washington state and North and South Carolina, and owns 50.2% of the Canfor Pulp Limited Partnership.