VANCOUVER, British Columbia – As lumber prices have fallen back to earth, so have Canfor’s net earnings.

The company posted third-quarter adjusted net earnings of $210 million, slightly below what it experienced in the same quarter of the prior year but well under the other-worldly $726.9 million of adjusted net income its operations generated in the second quarter of this year due to record lumber prices. Through the first nine months of 2021, Canfor’s adjusted net income totals $1.365 billion on sales of $6.113 billion.

Canfor said its lumber segment earnings decreased $674.4 million quarter-over-quarter largely as a result of steep declines in North American benchmark lumber prices through most of the current period. This pricing drop, combined with lower production and shipment volumes and higher unit manufacturing costs, particularly in Western Canada, substantially outweighed the benefit of unprecedented European benchmark lumber prices.

Canfor's President and Chief Executive Officer Don Kayne, said, "Despite the decline in North American benchmark lumber prices and the supply chain challenges experienced during the quarter, our employees demonstrated ongoing resilience and we are pleased to see the continued benefit of our global diversification strategy, with our European lumber business results surpassing the previous quarter record and reaching a new all-time high in the current period. While our pulp business saw lower production, largely associated with the previously announced scheduled and unscheduled downtime, it delivered solid financial results in the quarter. The global supply chain constraints are expected to continue in the fourth quarter, but overall lumber markets are anticipated to be stronger."