Sloppy early snows and constrained sawmill chip production lead East Canada's pulp mills to creative wood sourcing

摘要

A combination of bad weather and low sawmill operating rates was blamed for complicating pulpwood flows at the end of fourth quarter. Through most of the region, wood inventories are tight, with some mills even close to running out of fiber. The situation is decidedly worst in Nova Scotia, contacts said, where long-distance hauls are driving delivered wood costs for incremental volumes to "unsustainable" levels. Heavy, wet, early snows have Ontario bogged down, especially in the west. And wet conditions are preventing pulplogs and sawlogs from moving efficiently in Quebec and, to a lesser degree, New Brunswick.