It’s been a struggle to get logs for the Aspen Planers mill in Merritt, according to the local union president.

Marty Gibbons of the United Steelworkers Local 1-417 says that mill has been outbid for logs in the Nicola Valley by Weyerhauser, which has a mill in Princeton.

“They have been struggling to secure log supply, with Tolko basically taking logs out of the Nicola Valley and transporting them to other areas, and a mill in Princeton basically taking logs out from under our noses. It’s tough, but they have been up and down,” Gibbons says.

“And they are working to secure additional timber. And the government has been fairly cooperative with that, as they have opened up some additional supply for us in Merritt. But they still are probably up as much as they’re down.”

Aspen Planers briefly shut down in the spring, which Gibbons says was because of market conditions combined with reaction to the start of the pandemic.