Another mill closed. Philomath

[ditchtiger]

I'm OK , going to quit this fall. Just came sooner. Lots of young folks will be hard up though.
Is the Interfor mill in Phiolmath.

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[MJGCamper]

Can you tell me the reason for their closing? Also what type of lumber did they produce?

This very sad for those that need their jobs. I hope it isn't a sign of things to come

 

[Provincial]

The Philomath mill made dimensional lumber, like 2x4 and 2x6, plus some larger sizes. It took logs from 8" up to 30" diameter, which is kind of standard nowadays. Logs larger than that are getting rare, and there are still mills that will take them, but they will have to be trucked a long distance.

This mill was bought a couple of years ago by Interfor, a Canadian company. It is thought that they were trying to expand their operations out of Canada, because bug damage had decimated the log supply there, and also to avoid import duties (tax) that were making it difficult to sell into the USA. Georgia Pacific had operated the mill for decades, and was pulling out of the Northwest. Speculation is that Interfor was not able to make a profit from operating this mill.

The mill isn't "state-of-the-art", but isn't obsolete. Right now the lumber price is very low because builders fear high interest rates will dampen demand for new housing. Without a base of company-owned timber, Interfor had to buy logs on the open market, which is priced very high right now. This pricing is due to limited supply of logs, partially because of the huge fires a few years ago, and also because landowners are trying to keep up with increased costs and increased regulations preventing or restricting harvesting.

Just down the road, a new "stud mill" (making 2x4's and 2x6's of lengths ready-to-install as studs) has opened. It takes logs as small as 5" diameter at the small end, which is a different market. This is a highly automated mill, with few operators. It is the wave of the future, but does not take the same size logs as the Philomath mill did.

The future of sawmills appears to be headed for a few huge, highly automated mills ("Mega-mills") that move massive amounts of lumber. The logs will have to be trucked long distances to these mills. There will be fewer jobs per board foot of lumber made, and huge corporations will dominate the market.

About the only hope for mills like Philomath would be for timberland owners to form "co-ops" to maintain mills in areas not served by the "Mega-mills." I think that would be difficult to accomplish, but would be the best thing for rural areas.

 

[GrayGoose]

I hope it isn't a sign of things to come

It's not a sign of things to come.

It's a sign of what's already here.

 

[Certaindeaf]

It's not a sign of things to come.

It's a sign of what's already here.

Lumber prices are stupid and no one has been building for years.

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

You can only rape the resources for so long before the well runs dry same as the fishing these are facts

 

[joken]

I hunt near the Interfor mill in Crescent. In early November they had more lumber there than I have ever seen there or anywhere. I've been hunting there a long time.

 

[TTSX]

Oof. That's gonna hurt the local economy pretty bad

 

[MJGCamper]

Thank you Provincial, that was well written, makes me sad to see the way things are changing.

 

[CLT65]

If you know someone losing their job there who wouldn't mind moving an hour north for a good paying industrial job with a stable company, let me know. I'm surprised we haven't had more applicants.

 

[boattail]

You can only rape the resources for so long before the well runs dry same as the fishing these are facts

Do you have any idea how timber harvesting really works?.....dumb question on my part as your statement says you do not. Harvest plans and timber management have changed in the last forty years that keep the forests safer for wildfires, keep a steady supply of timber in rotation, and better utilize the available water to maximize growth.

I have been around logging for 35+ years and currently work for a college that has a full, real, logging operation that starts at forest health, forest management, harvesting, processing, transporting, and ends with a final product that is actually sold.

One thing that has changed over the years has been small logging operations and their numbers. Mechanized logging has taken boots off the ground and put them in machines. Small logging operations have no choice to stay small as logging practices got better for the forest with mechanization. The benefits of this new method of logging is healthier for the forests, has less impact on the ground and makes regrowth happen five years faster than old methods. These new methods are changing all the time to refine the process to maximize health of the forests. The logging operations of today have evolved where the same sized crew that put out 7 to 10 loads a day are now knocking out 30 loads in a day. A small operation cannot justify the machinery cost if they stay small. We have lost the number of workers in the woods but the trucking numbers have stayed steady.

Back in the 80's I hauled into 33 mills. Some of these were large and some small. Of the 33 I hauled into only 7 remain. There were other mills in this area , that I never hauled into, that are still going and some that are gone as well. All the small niche market mills except for a few, are gone and the larger mills have upped their game with mechanization to take in more wood.

Modernization has consolidated things and taken more workers out of the equation. Even at that we cannot get anyone interested in any great numbers to get into logging. Loggers are aging out, the workforce is full of grey hair and the young one's are not seeking to work the woods or mills as much as previous years. We are desperately trying to get a younger generation of loggers in place before all the old timers and their knowledge is lost.

Driver shortages are real and getting drivers that are capable to haul logs has been a struggle. With that, getting capable drivers that want to commit to the demands of what it takes to haul logs has been another stopping point. I can get about 25% of my driving students interested in taking a ride along in a log truck and of those less than 5% are ready to commit to the job demands.

The current generation of workers have flipped their priorities, from past generations, while the work demands have stayed constant. No longer does the worker value his job first, his family second, and himself third. Now it is himself first, his family second, and work third. That mentality cuts the workforce availability down for logging type jobs that demand hard work.

While harvest plans, forest health, and timber management have all improved on private timber lands the world marches on and further mechanization and consolidation will occur.

One hot button for me is when people make statements that loggers are raping the forests. Loggers are not killing trees for enjoyment....they kill them because you want them. Without a market for timber there is no logger. Without the need for timber the forests would overgrow and burn more, causing widespread loss of forests and a waste of resources. Customers want wood and timber companies provide it for you using the best practices they can employ to ensure a steady supply....a steady supply means a healthy forest.

There is still lots of big timber around, even in the interior of the states. These trees pictured have been allowed to grow very large but guess what?, they are worthless for anything structural. Most of these are cut up into wood to make pallets, some make moldings. The timber company is harvesting these out and replacing them with faster growing higher value trees to maximize land and water use. These big trees will be replaced by trees that will triple the benefit, value, and water use in the same time it took these guys to grow. This tract of timber also has huge set backs for wildlife and natural resources, meaning timber for animals is retained and critical water ways (streams, low lying areas) are preserved.

okay...my rant is over....