Owens & Hurst Mills lts Last Log

After a potential last-minute buyer backed out, Owens & Hurst Lumber Co., Eureka, Mt., processed its final log June 6, then employees gathered for a "last supper."

In May, co-owner Jim Hurst revealed that a hardwood manufacturer based in Kentucky was considering purchasing the mill to process wood products for Japanese markets (see May, p. 34). He said that the buyers were deterred by the cost of transporting logs from Kentucky and Indiana to Montana, and "their markets in Japan did not seem as solid as they hoped."

The mill's closure was blamed on the lack of a dependable lumber sup-

Production Up ln Montana

Both lumber production and prices in Montana increased in the first quarter of 2005, but the recent closure of Owens & Hurst Lumber in Eureka will likely depress figures for the rest ofthe year.

According to a new study bY the Universitv of Montana's Bureau of ply from the nearby Kootenai National Forest. In recent years, the mill had been forced to rely on burned timber trucked from Alberta, Canada, but even that source had dried uP.

Most of the mill's 90 emPloYees were laid off, although a few will work at the mill's planer until the equipment is auctioned in mid-August. Some have gotten jobs at Stoltze Land & Lumber and Plum Creek in Columbia Falls, Mt. The rest are eligible for job retraining and relocation money, although Hurst wonders how many will leave Eureka.

"This little neck of the woods kind of grows on you after you live here a while," said Hurst. "There are a lot of people who don't want to leave."

Weyco Appealing Alder Ruling

An antitrust judgment of nearly $80 million was upheld by a federal appeals court against Weyerhaeuser Co. for allegedly trying to monopolize the market for alder, the Northwest's leading hardwood.

Weyerhaueser will appeal the decision, saying that "it remains our position that our conduct has been lawful and fully consistent with the standards set by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Business and Economic Research, production rcse 4Vo, from 243 million to 252 million bd. ft. from January to March. During the same period, prices for wood products increased between lA-2OVo when compared to prices late last year.

Employment also increased about | 7o. to 3.7 32 workers.

The judgment affirmed a 2003 verdict that found Weyerhaeuser artificially increased prices to drive companies including Ross-Simmons Hardwood Lumber Co., Longview, Wa., out of business. According to the ruling, rising prices for logs and declining prices for its lumber caused RossSimmons to suffer nearly $4.5 million in losses and close its doors in 2001.

"This is a major precedent that reverberates throughout more than just the alder markct," said Mike Haglund, who presented Ross-Simmons. "The court makes it very clear here you cannot deliberately push log prices up to eliminate your rivals."