Abitibi-Consolidated Inc. announced that it will take two of its paper mills off line for an indefinite period of time. The company will be idling its mills in Lufkin, Tex., and Port-Alfred, Quebec, starting Dec. 14th.
The company noted that it will be starting next year with one million metric tons of focused downtime.
"We continue to work through an oversupplied market. Additionally, the high- cost structure of Port-Alfred has been further exacerbated by the rapid rise of the Canadian dollar, while energy-related costs have jeopardized the cost position of our Texas paper mill operations," said John Weaver, Abibiti president and CEO. "Considering the current consumption levels for North American newsprint, today's decisive actions are necessary and consistent with our focused downtime strategy. This is a difficult decision and we regret the impact on our employees, but it is essential that we take these steps in order to bring the company back to a sustained level of profitability as quickly as possible, while maintaining the production flexibility needed for the future."
The company also said it's closing two previously idled paper machines, one in Port-Alfred and one in Sheldon, Texas, representing a combined annual capacity of 230,000 tons of newsprint.