Canadian lumber company Transpac Group confirmed on Mar. 13 that it’s largely shutting down its site on Afognak Island near Kodiak, effective immediately. Representatives of the company say that’s because earlier this month, China halted imports of U.S. logs in response to tariffs President Donald Trump imposed on Chinese goods.
Charles Kim is Transpac’s CEO. He says the company is sending most of its staff home because it cannot find new customers despite trying to divert its products to other countries, including India.
“We've been trying very hard since the announcement,” Kim said. “And it has all failed.”
The company has a contract for the logging site at Danger Bay on Afognak Island, just north of Kodiak. The site is owned by the Afognak Native Corporation, which could not be reached for comment. Kim says that contract also means it has certain obligations, including road building and maintenance.
Transpac also harvests and exports timber from Canada, Oregon and Washington.
Of the roughly 60 staff normally stationed at the site, about 11 will stay there for now. Kim says the company can afford to do that for about one year, but if the lumber ban lasts longer, the site will close permanently – a major financial risk.
“Eventually, we’ll have to fold,” Kim said. “And I think that will be the last of us, the contractors and loggers, in the state of Alaska.”
Kim says he cannot speak for other logging contractors in the state. But he suspects they’re facing the same dilemma.
The news comes less than two months after Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to “unleash Alaska's extraordinary resource potential,” including timber.
KMXT’s Brian Venua contributed reporting to this story.
