Sawmill down-sizing in BC will create opportunities for European lumber exporters to the US
Canada is the world's second-largest producer of softwood lumber, behind the United States. Over the past five years, production has decreased from 48 million m3 in 2017 to 37 million m3 in 2022. Last year, the country's sawmill output was down almost 40% from the heydays two decades ago when the all-time high reached nearly 60 million m3.
The history of the Canadian sawmilling industry has developed quite differently in British Columbia compared to the rest of the country. During much of the period from 2000 to 2016, BC production was close to 50% of Canada's total output. Following the pine-beetle infestation in the province, harvest levels declined, and the lumber sector was forced to downsize. While sawmills continued to produce about 25 million m3 annually in the eastern provinces to supply the strong US market, production in the west coast province fell from 23 million m3 in
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