Potlatch Closure Will Leave 215 Jobless
Potlatch Corp. will permanently close its Jaype Plywood plant near Pierce, Idaho, putting 215 people out of work.
The plant was closed indefinitely Aug. 28 due to poor market conditions. On Tuesday, Potlatch announced plans to make it permanent.
The plant, located about 50 miles east of Lewiston, will be dismantled. Spare parts will be used at other Potlatch facilities, or sold.
A meeting is planned with union officials to discuss impacts on workers, said Potlatch spokesman Mike Sullivan.
The company will continue to operate a log yard in Pierce. Jaype Plywood was constructed in 1965. It takes its name from J.P. Weyerhaeuser, Potlatch’s first president.
Plywood markets, wood supply and transportation concerns all factored into the decision to close the plant, Sullivan said.
Prices for commodity plywood have dropped about $150 per thousand square feet from last year’s record high of $610.
The company also was concerned about long-term supply of Douglas fir and western larch. Five years ago, Potlatch switched its production in Pierce and St. Maries to industrial grade plywood, which relies on those two tree types, Sullivan said.
Private and state timberlands supply Potlatch mills. Looking at the next 10 years, the St. Maries’ plywood plant was better situated in relation to wood supply, Sullivan said.
In addition, the Pierce plant was served by the Camas Prairie Railroad, which is closing one of its lines. Company officials had concerns about the railroad’s future in the area, Sullivan said.
Potlatch isn’t the only company affected by the low market prices, industry officials said.
Structural panel production in Canada and the U.S. is up over last year, even though demand has tapered off, said Shawn Church, associate editor for Random Lengths newsletter in Eugene, Ore.
Quality Veneer & Lumber shut down its plywood plant in Omak, Wash., this summer. In Oregon, plywood plants have closed in Dallas and Klamath Falls.
“Mills have tried to hang in there all year, hoping it would get better,” said Ken Tennefoss, managing editor of Crows Weekly Market Report in Portland.