Weyerhaeuser to shut mill, consider sale of asset

NEW YORK, April 2 (Reuters) - U.S. timberland owner and forest products maker Weyerhaeuser Co (WY.N: Quote, Profile, Research) said it will indefinitely curtail operations at a plant in Hudson Bay, Saskatchewan, by early July.

The company has been in the process of trimming its production and operations, due to the slump in the U.S. housing market, which has led to weak demand and prices for lumber, oriented strand board and other key products that are used by the construction industry.

Weyerhaeuser said it has 170 people directly employed at the Hudson Bay oriented strand board mill.

"We will also use this time to explore transfer of ownership opportunities for this operation," Phil Dennett, a company executive, said in a statement. (Reporting by Euan Rocha; Editing by Brian Moss)