Oregon Public Broadcasting

Two more lumberyards in central Oregon will close over the next several weeks.

Parr Lumber says it can’t keep its Madras and Redmond stores open during the recession.

The Hillsboro-based company competes with Home Depot and other national chains.

Jennifer Swick is marketing director for Parr Lumber.

She says sales have slowed to contractors and home builders – but ‘do-it-yourself’ retail sales have actually picked up.

Jennifer Swick: “Our stores are relying heavily on retail traffic to get us through this. And unfortunately the Redmond and Madras locations, we just haven’t been able to get that retail traffic. I don’t know if it’s a competitive situation – I know there’s big box competition.”

The troubles in the home construction business mean sawmills are shutting regularly.

Interfor Pacific’s Gilchrist  sawmill, south of Bend, says it is on the verge of going out of business.

Wood products manufacturing has lost close to 1000 jobs in Deschutes County since the peak of the housing boom in 2006.