Sawmills Are Selling Boards Faster Than They Can Cut Them
- Resolute Forest CEO expects prices to continue strengthening
- Resolute running two shifts at its Arkansas, Ontario sawmills
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Lumber demand is so strong that Resolute Forest Products Inc.’s order book exceeds its inventory, according to Chief Executive Officer Remi Lalonde.
After trucking and railcar shortages hampered shipments during the first quarter, Resolute is now holding extra inventories at a time of record wood prices, Lalonde said during a conference call Thursday. Still, even those stockpiles aren’t enough to satisfy the North American building boom, so Resolute is ramping up output. Full-year production is expected to rise by 7%.