This post contains content from the Q3 2026 Forisk Wood Fiber Review (WFR), which provides a quarterly review of pulpwood, chips, biomass markets and trade in the U.S. and Canada.

British Columbia (BC) Interior pulplog prices peaked in 2025. By Q3 2026, they had fallen 13%.

Interior pulplogs climbed more than 50% from 2021 to 2025. Sawmill closures and a shrinking annual allowable cut (AAC) in the region left pulp mills scrambling for logs. The market turned in 2026 when prices fell for three straight quarters. Multiple pulp mill closures and curtailments removed some of the Interior region’s biggest fiber buyers from the market. Delivered Interior pulplog prices were down about 13% from 2025 levels. Coastal pulplogs, in contrast, have remained flat since 2023.

Chips took the hardest hit on the Coast.

Residual chips, the sawmill by-product that feeds pulp mills, showed more pronounced pressure amidst pulp mill closures and curtailments. BC Coastal chips dropped roughly 15% in one quarter. This lines up with the idling of a major pulp mill and its chipping facility in August. Alberta is the exception, with SPF chip prices edging up as the province’s pulp mills keep running. Alberta chips now sell for more than both BC Coastal chip products.

What’s driving the drop? Fewer mills means fewer buyers.

Every closed pulp mill is a customer that stops buying chips and pulplogs. Suppliers left holding that fiber must discount it to find a new home. West Fraser said as much in its Q2 2026 filing, expecting pulp mill curtailments to keep pushing down prices for sawmill residuals. Curtailments and slower operating rates become more common when end-markets are poor. Global softwood kraft pulp demand has been weak all year, causing sellers to consider their raw material costs and inventories. Q3 2026 brought several shutdown announcements that pulled demand straight out of the market:

• Domtar Howe Sound Pulp & Paper, Port Mellon (Aug 20, 2026): Indefinite idling, including the Bayview Fiber chipping facility.
• Millar Western Quesnel River Pulp (Aug 2026): Curtailed Sept 4 to Nov 1, 2026.
• Canfor Northwood Pulp, Prince George (Jul 14, 2026): Permanent closure by year-end, about 300 jobs, citing unsustainable losses.
• Nippon Dynawave Pulp, Longview, WA (May 26, 2026): Operations suspended due to catastrophic tank implosion, impacting local and Canadian markets.

What to watch in Q4 2026 and beyond:

Price declines from Northwood’s closure and the Howe Sound idling may continue into Q4. Other factors include whether Quesnel River Pulp restarts on schedule, how NBSK prices move, and whether other BC mills take downtime. Western Canada has flipped to a buyer’s market for residuals and pulpwood. For pulp mills, that’s welcome relief on input costs. For sawmills, loggers and truckers, it’s one more challenge in an already tough year.

To learn more about the Wood Fiber Review, click here or email Nick DiLuzio at ndiluzio@forisk.com.