Lumbra Hardwoods of Milo, Maine will be closing its doors after nearly 75 years of business – ceasing operations this month in a letter sent to log suppliers.
The April 3, 2026 letter signed by Vice President Stephen M. Lumbra cited high energy costs, insurance costs, and poor market conditions for its production decline leading to the shutdown with last day for deliveries being April 17, 2026.
As another business in Maine falls victim to blue-curtain economics, former Gov. Paul Lepage (R-Maine) took to X and called the closure a “tragedy” for rural Maine. The post also showed LePage voice outrage that the sawmill is being closed due to “skyrocketing electricity prices.”
LePage exclaimed that sawmills are “the backbone of a rural Maine community” before blaming current politicians for catering to state lobbyists that pursue “loft and unrealistic climate goals”.
As the economy continues to deteriorate under sitting Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine), the state recorded the nation’s highest residential energy cost increase between May 2024 and May 2025. Maine’s power rates rose 36.3% in this period, with Central Maine Power (CMP) rates surging 20% in kilowatt-hour measurements.
The closure of Lumbra Hardwoods is the latest look into how Maine’s failing economy paired with rising electricity costs result in business closures amid broader economic stagnation under the Mills administration.
[Related: Maines Economy Didn’t Just Stall, Eight Years Of Mills Era Policy Helped Put It There]
I get two electric bills…..one is for a smallish barn.
Used to be less than $10/month.
I have nothing in it……have not so much as turned on an electric light in it in over a year.
It is now just over $30/month.
Nothing will change. Maine is all about out of state tourismd dollars, coastal and inland. Maine government at all levels, city, state ECT is totally corrupted and non educated. Platner and Bellows are prime examples of the best Maine can offer. We’re screwed.
I am from Milo. These were good jobs lost by good people and I doubt they will be replaced anytime soon. Maine is experiencing a brain drain soon; anyone with a brain will get the hell out. Personally we are waiting to see what happens in November before making a decision. We like to believe our home can be saved, but aren’t overly confident in that belief. Communists in southern Maine have a stranglehold on the government…
Could have given Fifty Million to the mill and keep its workers but the money went to two drones at the green salad factory …..yup
Maine is toast .
Maine is 44th out of 50 states in attracting tourists. So for a state that relys on tourist dollars more of them visit North Dakota than Vacationland. Not a good omen.
Dysfunctional dems are to blame. Blue state policies are unsustainable.
So, another fine lumber mill closes. 70 good rural workers with no jobs. High energy costs. AND nobody in Augusta gives a shit. The roof is falling in on these liberal dopes and they have nowhere to run. The counties are emptying out, quietly shutting down. Manufacturing job loses moving south toward Augusta. Nothing left wroth anything in Bangor. Maine is dying, so very sad!
Maybe it could reopen as Maine’s first LGBTQ+ABC123 sawmill? Hang a rainbow flag out front, put a few solar panels on the roof, a wind turbine or 10 and put a Somalian in charge. Janet would have fought like a tiger to keep that place open.
Maine is in trouble. Green energy (being highly supported by outrageous rates charged on all electric bills) will not solve the energy problem, it is the energy problem. Take a lesson from Germany: Government reduced fossil fuels for green energy. The electric costs are the highest in Europe and businesses are leaving Germany for cheaper energy elsewhere. Time for voters to wake up or things will just get worse.
Mr. LaPage,
You had my vote as Governor, and you STILL have my vote as Senator. Maine needs more men such as yourself Sir.
Energy, particularly electricity, is just too damn expensive here. It is one of the biggest costs my business has to deal with, and it just keeps increasing. Until we get a huge increase in Solar and Wind production, and separate ourselves from the giant multinational corporations that supply our power and our fossil fuels, we are just going to be headed down. Note also, one of the reasons this mill closed is the poor market conditions for their main products- which points to a general failure of our depressed economy as a whole, the companies that were buying their products a few years ago just are no longer doing so.
Maybe if we replaced all the hydro dams we’ve torn down over the years , so the Indians can catch a ceremonial fish once a year , we could get some electricity back up here .
Nooooo …. That ain’t happening ….the ten yuppie owned whitewater raft companies would scream bloody murder and the Indians would get drunker than they already are .
Maine is going over the falls and we are just sitting back watching it happen .
Better check who was Governor when mills Closed in Millinocket. Quite sure it was Paul LePaige! Then check on the cleanup!