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A major lumber mill in Centralia, Northwest Hardwoods, has announced plans to temporarily curtail its production, possibly to half its operating capacity, due to the ongoing West Coast port slowdown.

Northwest Hardwoods will begin reducing hours of employees at the Centralia plant on Galvin Road this coming Monday, according to company vice president of human resources Brian Narramore.

The curtailment comes as negotiations between longshoremen and port association officials on a new dockworkers’ contract continue, in the face of a slowdown at several ports including Seattle and Tacoma — where Northwest ships internationally-bound products from.

“Centralia is one of our mills that’s closely situated near these ports,” Narramore said Wednesday afternoon. “Unfortunately it’s impacting our employees. It will be this way until this improves.”

Narramore said the ongoing port dispute has crippled the company’s ability to export its product. As a result, several employees will see their hours cut in half, with production employees at the mill’s sawmill and sander affected the worst; however, all employees will feel the effects of the curtailment somehow.

From The Chronicle: http://www.chronline.com/article_931e3da4-b2e2-11e4-ae45-2fd49f76c566.html