Oregon will still have at least 168 sawmills or lumber mills left, but the pace they are closing at is alarming.

  Another lumber mill to close in Grant County

 According to reports, the Malheur Lumber Company is closing for good, and with it will of at least 76 jobs. The company is based out of John Day, OR, and has cited a number of reasons it's closing this mill.  It's the last lumber mill in Grant County, OR.

The mill is located near John Day. The Statesman Journal reports once the current inventory of logs is finished being milled and is shipped out, the facility will close.

The mill is the fifth one in Oregon to close in 2024.  According to the Statesman, company officials gave a list of why mills are closing:

  • "Lack of a willing and drug-free workforce.
  • Lack of housing to recruit workers from outside the area.
  • Unfavorable market conditions for lumber in recent years.
  • High manufacturing costs due to inflation.
  • Low and inconsistent production due to workforce issues.
  • Continued layering of government regulations on small business in Oregon"

The other mills that have closed this year, according to The Statesman, include:

Oregon still produces about 6.1 million board feed of lumber, and according to 2021 state figures (some of the most current available) Oregon produces about 28 percent of the nation's plywood.

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