Canada's West Fraser to curtail Lake Butler operations amid weak market environment

(Reuters) - Canadian producer of forestry products West Fraser announced on Thursday that it would indefinitely curtail its sawmill in Lake Butler, Florida, by the end of this month.

The curtailment would impact nearly 130 employees, and the company expects to mitigate this by providing work opportunities at other company operations.

High fiber costs and soft lumber markets led to the decision, the company said, where the current low-price environment has impaired the ability to operate the mill profitably.

This also reduces West Fraser's U.S. lumber capacity by approximately 110 million board feet, and the company said it would take an impairment charge in the third quarter of 2024.

The Vancouver, Canada-based company missed profit estimates in the second quarter of the year.

Morningstar analyst Spencer Liberman in July had said that the stagnant housing markets as well as tepid repair and remodel demand were weighing on lumber demand end markets.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)