Tembec is closing its engineered wood products mill in Kirkland Lake, Ontario for at least two months to cut inventories because of the slumping U.S. housing sector.

The closure will begin on May 21st. 35 workers will be laid off.

"Demand for lumber is down sharply, driven primarily by the dramatic
decline in the level of housing starts in the United States. This decline in
demand has resulted in both lower prices for lumber and reduced operating
rates in sawmills across Eastern Canada," said Dennis Rounsville, Executive
Vice President, President Forest Products Group. "With this situation,
Kirkland Lake has been hit on three fronts. First, the supply of trim ends
from area sawmills - Kirkland Lake's primary feedstock - has been greatly
reduced as many of these sites take downtime. Second, like other lumber
products, prices for this mill's output are very low. Finally, the extremely
high value of the Canadian dollar has made a tough situation even worse."

The Kirkland Lake facility produces finger jointed lumber for construction use.

Source:
Tembec shuts down Kirkland Lake, Ont. wood products mill for two months (CBC)