Alabama Looses Big Paper Mill, But Lumber Mill to Reopen

The state of Alabama is seeing both sides of how changes in the U.S. economy are affecting the forest products industry in the U.S.

In near back-to-back announcements, International Paper Co. said it is closing a big pulp and paper mill in north Alabama due to declining demand for certain types of paper products while Weyerhaeuser Company said it would reopen a shuttered lumber mill in the southern part of the state because of reviving home construction.

IP’s paper mill in Courtland will be shut-down in stages to be completed by next March, resulting in the loss of 1,100 jobs and a market for timber for landowners and loggers in northern Alabama and adjoining areas of Tennessee. Weyerhaeuser’s lumber mill to be reopened is in Evergreen in the southern part of Alabama, which has been closed for four years due to the decline in demand for engineered wood products during the prolonged housing slump.

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