We sequester(ed*) carbon for the production of affordable housing.
Western Cascade Industries, LLC, was a softwood lumber producer in Toledo, Oregon.
As of February 2026, our phones have been disconnected. Please use the form below regarding any inquiries.
*Closure ...
On July 31, 2024, Western Cascade Industries, LLC, ceased production at our sawmill in Toledo, Oregon. Since the Spring of 1998, we have produced Douglas Fir studs and framing components, wood packaging material, and softwood chips. At the peak of production, Western Cascade employed nearly 100 individuals; at the end, we parted with the last 54 employees, many of whom were with the company over fifteen years, with some over 20 years. The company has exhausted all available resources in attempting to survive this difficult market, as we have been able to in the past. There were several factors which led to our decision to close the mill at this time, but, simply put, the market for our products has plummeted as costs have exploded.
Despite the desperate need for affordable housing, locally and nationally, the lumber market has dropped below the most conservative expectations, reaching the lowest real-dollar price in over 50 years. The price of softwood chips has simultaneously dropped, as permanent closures of paper mills in the Northwest (Washington State and Canada) and elsewhere have left a long-term surplus of chips available to the remaining paper mills. By-products (bark, sawdust, and planer shavings), which once generated significant revenue, became cost centers several years ago. At the same time, freight costs associated with all of these products have increased.
While the markets for our products have fallen dramatically, costs have risen just as dramatically, particularly since the pandemic. Parts and supplies, machine tooling, and material costs have increased dramatically. Professional service rates and fees have increased dramatically. Insurance costs have increased dramatically, before including the entirely unsustainably increasing cost of providing health insurance to our employees.
Everyone seems to agree on the need for affordable housing, built with sustainable materials, but we cannot agree on how to get there. Wood products are the only materials we build with, at any meaningful scale, that are grown rather than extracted or synthesized. Western Oregon is the finest softwood growing region on earth and will have to be part of our housing solution, if we indeed want a solution. We continue to believe that wood products, sustainably produced, are the ultimate key to sustainable, affordable housing.
We’d like to express our gratitude to our former employees and the City of Toledo, and certainly regret the negative impacts that our closure will have on our city, our county, and our region. Western Cascade has had the privilege to work with, and often grow with, so many exceptional individuals over the past 26 years, and we are grateful to those who were part of our efforts.
Sincerely,
Ted “Ross” Stock
Western Cascade Industries
