Forester Tembec idles Canadian sawmills

TEMISCAMING, Quebec, June 12 (UPI) -- Canadian forestry giant Tembec announced the idling of sawmills in Ontario and British Columbia because of weak market conditions.

In a release from its Temiscaming, Quebec, headquarters, Executive Vice President Dennis Rounsville said some 500 employees at all levels would be affected.

"These shutdowns are a consequence to the rapid and significant appreciation in the value of Canadian dollar, continued weak markets for lumber, and the related need to manage inventories and working capital," Rounsville said.

The closures in the Northern Ontario mills range from one to six weeks beginning this month and into July, the release said.

Two mills in British Columbia will close for a minimum of three weeks beginning June 15, the company said.

The Ontario sawmills have a total annual capacity of 550 million board feet and the British Columbia mills have a combined annual capacity of 450 million board feet, the release said.