Lumber mill would be less competitive without reliable rail

To the editor:
    Fraser Timber Limited strongly supports the Governor’s jobs investment bond proposal that provides funding to acquire the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway’s (MMA) proposed abandoned 233 miles of track in northern Maine and preserves a reliable rail service in the region. We ask for your support by voting “Yes” on Question 3 on June 8, 2010.
    Established in 1979 and located in Ashland and Masardis, Fraser Timber Limited is a lumber manufacturing company that employs approximately 250 workers when operating at capacity. Due to the current downturn in the U.S. housing industry, we are now operating at just 89 percent capacity at our Masardis facility, employing 143 workers, while our Ashland facility is presently idle.
    The company ships about 70 percent of its annual production of lumber by rail. Rail is more cost efficient than trucking as nearly four truckloads can be delivered by a single railcar. Approximately 2,500 more truckloads would travel across Maine and other U.S. highways if rail service were removed as nearly all our lumber is sold into the eastern and southern United States.
    Although Ashland and Masardis facilities are located in close proximity to an excellent wood basket, due to our long distance to customers, onsite rail sidings were built to accommodate five to six cars at a time. The MMA is the only rail carrier servicing our sites and without rail service we would be forced to ship all products by truck. Many large customers order high volumes of lumber that can only be shipped in a timely manner by rail. If we are unable to service these customers they would go elsewhere to buy lumber and we would permanently lose market share and revenue.
    The lack of rail service would make Fraser Timber Limited less competitive, as most other lumber mills are serviced by rail and all other shipping options will be more expensive. Being less competitive can lead to eventual volume curtailments and possibly mill closures. Reductions in wood consumption and the lumber by-products such as the bark and sawdust, would affect the local businesses using them for raw materials as well as the 438 Maine businesses currently supplying Fraser Timber Limited. We strongly request your support to pass the bond proposal containing provisions to preserve rail service in northern Maine.
Arkon Horne, controller
Fraser Timber Limited
Ashland