Two weeks of downtime for employees at Tolko's Armstrong Lumber division started Monday morning, Sept. 16.

Employees were notified of the impending shutdown Thursday, Sept. 12.

The downtime is scheduled to last until Oct. 1.

"Unfortunately, the availability of economic fibre in B.C. combined with weak market conditions and increased U.S. tariffs continue to have an impact on our operations," said Tolko spokesperson Chris Downey. "As we’ve seen recently, the entire industry is feeling this pressure and while we prefer to be fully operational, difficult decisions are needed to ensure we are sustainable for the future."

Scales in the region, said Downey, will remain open.

The shutdown is the latest hit on the local forest giant and its employees and contractors.

Harvest and hauling activities across the Southern Interior were paused earlier in the summer to get inventories in line, and to manage log quality, cost and market risks.

The pause affected many Tolko logging contractors, but activities have since resumed, said head office.

"In the Cariboo region, inventory levels remain high, and impacts will be communicated with our logging contractors as available," said Downey. "We value our relationships with our contractors, and these decisions are not taken lightly; however, they are necessary to sustain our business for the future."

Source: trailtimes.ca