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Western Forest Products Continues Curtailments
Duncan, British Columbia, Canada, 25 September 2008 -- (MARKET WIRE) -- Western Forest Products Inc. (Toronto:WEF.TO - News) will continue curtailments in view of continuing weak lumber markets.
Western Forest Products announced that various logging operations and sawmills will continue at curtailed levels during the fourth quarter of 2008 and into 2009. Consequently, Western anticipates that operating levels in the remainder of 2008 will be approximately two thirds of those associated with normal markets. Demand for softwood lumber products for construction and home renovation in the United States is expected to remain low in 2009 as a result of the subprime mortgage fallout and reductions in housing starts. Other markets served by Western have produced insufficient demand to overcome the effects of the U.S. market downturn. Western has been managing harvesting, lumber production, and inventories to match customer needs throughout 2008 and anticipates continuing this approach in 2009. These actions have been taken in the face of the unusually depressed market for forest products, which has been discussed in more detail in the company's Annual MD&A, available at WWW.SEDAR.COM. If such market conditions continue the company might determine that further curtailments are required. Western Forest Products Western is an integrated Canadian forest products company and the largest coastal British Columbia woodland operator and lumber producer with an annual available harvest of approximately 7.5 million cubic meters of timber, of which 7.3 million cubic meters is from Crown lands and lumber capacity in excess of 1.5 billion board feet from eight sawmills and four remanufacturing plants. Principal activities conducted by the company include timber harvesting, reforestation, sawmilling logs into lumber and wood chips and value-added remanufacturing. Substantially all of Western's operations, employees, and corporate facilities are located in the coastal region of British Columbia while its products are sold in over 30 countries worldwide.
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