Malheur Lumber Co. closes, marking fifth Oregon mill shutdown this year

Malheur Lumber Co. announced last week it is closing for good, marking the fifth closure of a timber mill in Oregon this year.

The John Day-based company said in a letter it would halt operations after its current log inventory has been milled and lumber shipped. The company employed 76 full and part time workers, according to the Blue Mountain Eagle , which first reported the closure.

It was Grant County’s last remaining sawmill.

"The current cost of operating a small manufacturing business in the rural part of the state seems no longer sustainable," the letter said.

Among the reasons cited for closing, according to the newspaper, were:

• Lack of a willing and drug-free workforce.
• Lack of housing to recruit workers from outside the area.
• Unfavorable market conditions for lumber in recent years.
• High manufacturing costs due to inflation.
• Low and inconsistent production due to workforce issues.
• Continued layering of government regulations on small business in Oregon.

Fifth mill closure in Oregon this year

The mill was the fifth sawmill or timber operation in Oregon to close this year following the shuttering of:

• C&D Lumber Co. in Douglas County shut down in May, leading to 78 jobs being eliminated .
• A Philomath sawmill shut down in February , eliminating about 100 jobs in the small community west of Corvallis, owned by Interfor Corp.
• Rosboro Co. temporarily closed its Springfield mill and laid off 25 in early February.
• Hampton Lumber closed its Banks mill and laid off 58 in January.

A problem for overstocked Oregon forests

The loss of rural timber mills is a problem for a number of reasons, including for thinning overstocked forests, said Nick Smith with the American Forest Resource Council, a timber trade group.

“These loggers provide the boots on the ground for reducing wildfire risks on our public lands,” he said. “These manufacturers provide markets for the wood that needs to come out of the forests. There are no markets where there are no industry, and Grant County is a really tragic illustration of that right now.”

More Oregon mill closures to come?

Just about every timber company that has closed referenced the inability to get the timber required to keep the business going.

“The current log supply restrictions in Oregon and the likelihood of additional restrictions on state forests in the coming years, we just can’t see a viable future,” Hampton CEO Randy Schillinger said in closing its mill in Banks earlier this year.

Smith added that in rural parts of the state, logs can only be found on federal forests with strict limits on logging.

"There are multiple factors impacting the sector, but the common thread is timber supply, or the cost of the raw material to make the products," Smith said. "We’ve lost five wood processing facilities and there will probably be more before 2024 is over."

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 16 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast . Urness is the author of “ Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon ” and “ Hiking Southern Oregon .” He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6801. Find him on X at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Malheur Lumber Co. closes, marking fifth Oregon mill shutdown this year