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West Fraser shares operational update in response to B.C. floods

West Fraser Timber recently provided an update of operating conditions in response to the flooding situation in British Columbia.

The recent severe weather and flooding in B.C. has caused significant disruptions to transportation, including rail and truck routes, and has limited access to ports for overseas shipments.

The company stated in a release that in the second half of November, following the weather event that led to road and rail closures, its pulp shipments to the port of Vancouver, from where the majority of its export pulp ships, have averaged less than 20 percent of normal volumes. In addition, its western Canadian lumber weekly shipments have declined by approximately 25 percent to 30 percent.

While West Fraser is utilizing alternative transportation routes and methods to the extent they are available to continue servicing customers, the magnitude and duration of the impact from current weather events remain uncertain. Therefore, the company has reduced operating schedules at multiple western Canadian locations and will continue to make such adjustments as necessary in order to manage inventory levels, raw material supplies and its integrated fibre supply chain.

At the current time, it is not possible to estimate when full transportation services will resume or when the backlogs resulting from the interruptions will be cleared.

The company is not expecting to provide another update ahead of releasing its annual and fourth-quarter earnings release scheduled for Feb. 15, 2022.