Aug 01, 2007. /Lesprom Network/. Pope & Talbot, Inc. announced on July 31, 2007 a temporary capacity reduction at its pulp mill in Nanaimo, British Columbia. The mill, one of the largest producers of high- quality NBSK pulp in Canada, will curtail one of its three lines due to a reduced supply of affordable fiber in the coastal region. The move is expected to reduce the productive capacity of the 400 000-tonne per year facility by approximately 17% and impact up to 70 mill employees. Pope and Talbot CEO Harold Stanton said the move was necessary to ensure that the company could continue to honor customer contracts and attributed conditions leading to the decision to a reduction of lumber capacity in the coastal region and the strong Canadian dollar. The current Steelworkers coastal strike will worsen the situation in the near-term. "Given the external conditions, there is only so much affordable fiber available to us. That which we can cost-effectively procure, must go to honoring contracts with our key customers," said Mr. Stanton. "While this will be tough news for some of our employees, we do have the flexibility to return to full capacity as conditions improve." 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.