Another Oregon Lumber Mill Closes, 5th One This Year
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:
- "C&D Lumber Co. in Douglas County shut down in May, leading to 78 jobs being eliminated.
- A Philomath sawmill shut down in February, eliminating about 100 jobs in the small community west of Corvallis, owned by Interfor Corp.
- Rosboro Co. temporarily closed its Springfield mill and laid off 25 in early February.
- Hampton Lumber closed its Banks mill and laid off 58 in January."
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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Gallery Credit: Liz Barrett Foster