Plum Creek's mill here will call back 140 workers after shutting down in January.

140 called back to Plum Creek

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

With a slight uptick in the pine board market, about 140 workers will be called back to Plum Creek’s Columbia Falls sawmill.

The workers are expected back to the mill as it adds one-and-a-half shifts.

While the overall market remains weak, a lift in customer demand for pine boards allows the company to resume production at the mill.

“We are watching for signs of improvement in the wood products markets and see a modest gain in the demand for pine boards in the repair and remodel market,” said Tom Ray, vice president of Montana operations. “The recent positive trend in pine board demand will let us bring some people in Columbia Falls back to work. However, the broader housing market remains weak.”

Plum Creek’s Ksanka sawmill in Fortine, as announced in January, is scheduled to close permanently. The mill will saw the final logs on March 12. The planer will continue to run until March 24. The sawmill in Evergreen, which has been temporarily curtailed since January, is not scheduled to re-open before late April.

Plum Creek temporarily shut down its sawmill in Columbia Falls in January. The Evergreen curtailment meant a temporary loss of about 88 jobs and the Ksanka shutdown meant a permanent loss of 74 jobs. In January, Plum Creek’s Pablo sawmill cut 36 employees.

Plum Creek trimmed about 35 jobs from its MDF plant in January as well.

According to Random Lengths, a lumber industry trade publication, its composite price for lumber is at its lowest level in years, though the panel composite price has increased slightly over the past three months.