Forisk Research Release

Southern U.S. Sawmills Expand While Canadian Sawmills Close

North American softwood lumber production rose 1% in Q1 2026 but fell 4% year-over-year according to WWPA. Forisk tracks over 2,350 forest industry mills, including planned capacity changes, in the North American Forest Industry Capacity Database (“Mill Capacity Database”) and generates industry research and projections in the Forisk Research Quarterly. Several mills opened in the U.S. South, and lumber manufacturers in the U.S. North and West are investing. Canadian sawmill closures continue.

“Sawmills in the U.S. South plan to add 2.1 billion board feet of lumber production capacity from 2026 to 2028, net of closures,” says Amanda Lang, President and COO of Forisk Consulting. “Meanwhile, Canadian sawmills continue to close, removing 1.7 billion board feet of lumber production capacity in 2025 and 2026 combined.”

Sawmill Activity in the U.S. South

Harrigan Lumber restarted a second shift in Monroeville, AL. Rex Lumber completed a rebuild of the Brookhaven, MS sawmill, increasing capacity by 25 MMBF. The Lumber Manufactory plans a second sawmill in Colbert County, AL. Olla Hardwoods purchased and restarted the former Hunt FP Olla hardwood sawmill in LA. Pine Plantation Products in Metcalfe, GA and Doman Estill in Estill, SC started up.

Update for U.S. North, U.S. West, and Canada

The Robbins family plans to rebuild the Robbins Lumber Searsmont, ME sawmill after a fire that killed three people and injured twelve people. J.D. Irving installed a robotic shavings bagging system at the Dixfield, ME sawmill. J.D. Irving plans to double the capacity of the Ashland, ME sawmill from 130 MMBF to 250 MMBF. Tahoe Forest Products plans to rebuild the sawmill in Carson City, NV by 2027. Patrick Lumber completed the sawmill expansion in Philomath, OR earlier this year by adding two continuous dry kilns and optimizing loading processes.

In Canada, Carrier Forest Products will indefinitely curtail operations at their Big River, SK sawmill on October 16, 2026. Western Forest Products curtailed the Cowichan Bay, BC sawmill on May 11, 2026 and extended the curtailment until at least September. Interfor added a second shift to the Grand Forks, BC sawmill. In addition, Canfor will permanently close the Fox Creek sawmill in Alberta.

Each quarter, Forisk Consulting compiles data on mill activity through its ongoing tracking of wood-using facilities as part of Forisk’s North American Mill Capacity Database, a database of over 2,350 wood-using mills in North America. Mill updates are published in each quarter in the Forisk Research Quarterly (FRQ).

About the Mill Capacity Database: Forisk’s North American Mill Capacity Database provides forest industry stakeholders with detailed capacity, ownership, and wood-use data for wood-using mills across North America. The database supports strategic planning, competitive benchmarking, investment analysis, and supply chain assessment. For more information, visit www.forisk.com or contact Nick DiLuzio at ndiluzio@forisk.com.