On Thursday, December 4th, West Fraser issued the attached press release about the indefinite curtailment of their High Level OSB mill. This comes after navigating a down market for most of this year, with pricing in the most recent months reaching a 10-year low. This is the second OSB shutdown we have seen this year. First one being Arbec out of Eastern Canada. Although this one is now on a larger scale in terms of removed capacity, we don’t anticipate more reductions in the near term.
As the press release mentions, West Fraser has enough logs at High Level to run until Spring of 2026 which means 2025 contracts will not be affected. This does however change the landscape for next year. High Level produces long lengths and flooring. We are currently working on alternative options and will communicate them to you as soon as possible. Mills are looking for us to finalize our 2026 contracts, which gives us an opportunity to adjust, but with not much time to do so.
If you are currently contracted out of High Level, please reach out to your trader to discuss options. Conversely, if you get your long lengths elsewhere but are in an area that is serviced by this mill, this is also a good time to connect to ensure your needs are covered. As we get closer to Q2 of 2026 and beyond, the removed capacity could have a domino effect on availability nationwide.
Questions? Email Jon Benhaim
