The Financial Post reports in its Friday, July 29, edition that West Fraser Timber posted a net profit of $762-million in its latest quarter as the acute transportation challenges facing the company in recent quarters showed signs of improvement (all figures U.S.). A Canadian Press dispatch to the Post reports that the Vancouver-based company, which reports in U.S. dollars, said it earned $7.59 per diluted share in the second quarter, down from $12.32 per share or $1.49-billion a year earlier. Second quarter sales were $2.90-billion, down from $3.78-billion during the same period last year. In a release, West Fraser's chief executive officer Ray Ferris said its ability to ship products in a timely manner to meet the demands of customers is still "not where it needs to be and therefore transportation and logistics remain key focus areas for the company." He added, "Inflationary cost pressures persist across our various supply chains, although an environment of strong demand and above-average product pricing has helped to absorb most of these cost increases." Recently, West Fraser shut down speculation about existing shareholder Kronospan and CVC Capital Partners making a bid for the company.