Weyerhaeuser workers suffering from housing market collapse

Weyerhaeuser workers suffering from housing market collapse Federal Way, Wash.-based wood producer Weyerhaeuser Co. said Tuesday it is shuttering parts of two eastern mills due to shrinking demand for plywood.
   Up to 120 employees at the Colbert, Ga., and Dodson, La., facilities may be affected by the decision, the firm said.
   The Colbert plant's veneer line will be permanently shuttered within 30 days and local tree suppliers will no longer be used to supply raw material for remaining production. The Dodson plant will be shifted from plywood to 100 percent veneer production by the end of October.
   The move is only the latest in a string of closures or slowdowns the firm said has been forced on it by dwindling lumber demand in the face of the U.S. housing market collapse.
   The lumber industry is courting 25-year price lows as well as facing challenges such as the collapse of the housing market, the high Canadian dollar, softwood lumber taxes and issues like the mountain pine beetle. According to industry watchers, the market is saturated with wood products and many producers are left with little option but to reduce production capacity.
   “Clearly, the North American lumber market is oversupplied. We do not anticipate any rebound in lumber prices unless a number of producers are willing to close their mills,” said Paul Quinn, a Salman Partners analyst, in a recent investor research paper.
   On Monday, Weyerhaeuser said it was laying off more than 100 employees at two engineered lumber products plants in Oregon.
   The layoffs will go into effect Nov. 1 and are expected to idle the affected workers at the non-union Eugene and Junction City plants until at least April 1. Producing laminated trusses, floor joists and floor joist components, the two facilities will continue to operate at reduced levels.
   Last week, the firm also cited low demand in the national housing market when it said it would shutter seven saw mills in Oregon and Washington for two weeks over the holidays. The Oregon mills are located in Dallas, Warrenton, Coburg and Lebanon, and the Washington mills in Aberdeen, Green Mountain and Longview. The closures will run from Nov. 19-25 and during the last week of December.
   Two months ago, the lumber maker said it had closed, sold or started shutdowns of 40 production facilities since 2004.