SOLUTIONS TO IMPROVE TIMBER HARVESTING, TRANSPORTATION, AND WOOD SUPPLY EFFICIENCY

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: COMPLETE
• Funding Source: MCINTIRE-STENNIS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1018443
• Project Start Date: Feb 4, 2019
• Project End Date: Dec 31, 2023
• Program Code: [(N/A)]- (N/A)

Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
200 D.W. BROOKS DR
ATHENS,GA 30602-5016

Performing Department
School of Forestry & Natural Resources

Non Technical Summary
The southern forestry and and forest industry are responsible for $230 billion in economic output and are responsible for over 1 million jobs, most of which are in rural areas. The industry competes in a global economy and so producing timber and finished products such as lumber and paper at a competitive cost is critical for the industry to continue its contribution to the economy and support jobs in rural areas. The forest industry depends on thousands of small, independent logging business to harvest and deliver timber to their mills. Very little is known about the structure, profitability, and efficiency of these businesses and very little research has been conducted to help these businesses be more efficient and profitable.This study will conduct a survey of Georgia and South Carolina loggers to determine their business structure, capital investment, and challenges faced. Some logging businesses are purchasing new types of equipment and some mills are purchasing shorter log lengths than in past years. This study will investigate how these changes affect the cost of producing timber by loggers and the revenue generated to landowners. Thousands of log trucks deliver timber across public highways to forest industry mills. This study will analyze logging vehicle accident and inspection data to identify contributing factors to accidents and identify opportunities to improve timber transportation safety. Finally, renewable energy continues to expand in the U.S. and abundant forest resources in the rural South can be used for energy. This project will estimate the cost of harvesting wood for energy using conventional and alternative approaches.Results from this study will enable logging business owners to make informed decisions that help them operate more profitably and deliver the timber necessary to support the forest products industry and rural jobs. The analysis of log truck accidents may identify training opportunities and help log truck fleet managers improve the safety of their fleets. This will improve the safety of rural roads and highways. Reducing harvesting costs is critical for wood to contribute to renewable energy generation in the U.S. Results from this study will highlight best practices to minimize harvesting costs to make wood energy as cost-effective as possible.

Animal Health Component

100%

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

100%

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
123	0699	3100	100%

Knowledge Area
123 - Management and Sustainability of Forest Resources;

Subject Of Investigation
0699 - Trees, forests, and forest products, general;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management;

Keywords

logging businesses

energywood

log trucks

timber harvesting

Goals / Objectives
The major goals of this project are to increase wood supply chain efficiency, improve timber transportation safety, and reduce wood-energy harvesting costs. There is relatively little forest operations research being conducted in the United States and so this work is critical to better understand the opportunities and challenges facing logging businesses, forest landowers, and the forest products industry. This research should help make wood energy and traditional forest products more competitive with other sources of energy and building products.The specific objectives of the project are to 1) evaluate timber transportation safety and identify opportunities for improvement, 2) measure the impact of new harvesting equipment/techniques on forest landowners and logging businesses, 3) document and analyze changes in logging business productivity and business structure, and 4) evaluate productivity and cost of alternative energywood harvesting systems in the South.

Project Methods
Logging Business Productivity and Business StructureResearch on logging and trucking business structure and productivity will be conducted using interviews and mail surveys of business owners. Personal interviews with log truck owners and logging business owners will provide detailed information on the structure, production, and challenges faced by these businesses.I will continue the mail surveys of Georgia logging businesses conducted at five year intervals since 1987 (Baker and Greene 2008, Conrad et al. 2018b). This survey is the longest continuously running survey of its kind in the U.S. and has documented impressive gains in productivity and capital investment by Georgia loggers (Conrad et al. 2018a, Conrad et al. 2018b). The last survey was conducted in 2017 and the next one will be conducted in 2022. Logging business owners will be identified using the Georgia Master Timber Harvester active roster. This list includes all of the individuals that have completed Sustainable Forestry Initiative logger training, which is required in order to deliver timber to most Georgia mills. In 2017, I collaborated with Clemson University to include both Georgia and South Carolina loggers in the survey and I plan to continue this collaboration in 2022.Impact of New Harvesting Equipment/Techniques on Forest Landowners and Logging BusinessesI will conduct time-and-motion studies of harvesting operations using conventional equipment and those using processors to measure harvesting productivity. Harvesting costs will be estimated using the machine rate method (Miyata 1980, Brinker et al. 2002). Harvesting productivity and cost will be combined to estimate harvesting costs per ton using the Auburn Harvesting Analyzer.In conjunction with some logging businesses adding processors, some mills are purchasing shorter log-lengths rather than, or in addition to, tree-length material. New mill specifications have led to concerns among some landowners that they will receive less revenue per tree and per acre than they have in the past. I will compare revenue per acre from conventional and processor systems from a series of paired harvests. Harvest revenue will also be compared to pre-harvest estimates for the two systems. Finally, individual trees will be measured precisely before processing to determine the revenue maximizing bucking solution for each stem. After processing, the actual bucking solution will be compared to the optimal bucking solution to determine value recovery from processor and conventional systems.Timber Transportation Safety and EfficiencyI will collect and analyze logging vehicle accident reports (DOT-523) to analyze trends in frequency, severity, location, and contributing factors to logging vehicle accidents in Georgia. Similar research has been conducted previously (Greene et al. 1996, Greene et al. 2007), and given forest industry concerns about timber transportation, this research should be updated.The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) collect data nationally on the most severe log truck accidents. Cole (2018) analyzed data from these sources for fatal, injury, and towaway accidents and found that the South had the largest number of accidents and the highest accident rate per unit volume of timber hauled, further emphasizing the need for research to reduce accidents.Research in Georgia indicates that mechanical failure contributes to approximately 5% of logging vehicle accidents (Greene et al. 2007). Similarly, Lueck (2012) found that fleets with more frequent and severe vehicle maintenance violations on roadside inspections are more likely to be involved in accidents than fleets with fewer violations on these inspections. FMCSA now makes the results of roadside inspections available to the public, and so I plan to analyze the results of log truck inspection results to compare log truck condition to the condition of other heavy vehicles and identify opportunities for improvement.Some larger logging businesses and general trucking fleets are implementing innovative solutions to improve safety and efficiency. Many fleets are installing GPS tracking and dash cameras on their trucks, although adoption among log trucks has been slow. I plan to work with forest industry, logging business, and truck owners to evaluate the effectiveness of these tools.Productivity, Cost, and Environmental Impacts of Alternative Energywood Harvesting SystemsTime-and-motion studies of conventional, integrated, pre-harvest, and post-harvest operations will be conducted to measure productivity of these systems. Conventional systems harvest only roundwood. Integrated systems harvest energywood and roundwood simultaneously. Pre-harvest systems harvest energywood first, and then a second logging crew harvests roundwood. Post-harvest systems remove roundwood first, and then a second logging crew harvests energywood separately. I will work with industry and public land managers to identify appropriate logging businesses to observe.Elemental time studies will be conducted on each harvest to measure productivity. Hourly costs of owning and operating equipment will be estimated using the machine rate method (Miyata 1980, Brinker et al. 2002). Machine costs and productivity will be combined to estimate per-ton costs using the Auburn Harvesting Analyzer.EvaluationThis project will be evaluated based on scientific outputs. I will track the number of peer-reviewed journal articles that are published from this research and the number of conference presentations given.Georgia Master Timber Harvester presentations are reviewed by attendees and their perceived knowledge of the subject before and after the presentation is recorded. Formal evaluations are also collected during Logging Cost Analysis workshops to determine the knowledge and skills gained by attendees. Information presented during the Forest Harvesting and Roads course is evaluated using the University of Georgia's course evaluations.

Progress 10/01/20 to 09/30/21

Outputs
Target Audience:This year's efforts reached foresters, forest products industry representatives, and researchers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A presentation was provided at two Southeastern Wood Producers Association workshops. The Logging Cost Analysis short course was advertised but was ultimately canceled because of covid-19. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Presentations to the Southeastern Wood Producers Association reached logging business owners and workers that are often unfamiliar with university research. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Research will be conducted regarding the characteristics of and challenges faced by logging businesses owned by minorities, beginning, and young owners. Research will be conducted on succession plans of logging businesses with owners approaching retirement age. Research will be completed regarding log truck insurance premiums, changes in premiums, log truck crash rates, log truck condition, and timber transportation safety practices in the US South. Results will be presented at scientific and professional meetings and submitted to peer-reviewed journal(s).Research will also be conducted regarding innovative approaches for harvesting in-woods energy chips in the US South.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research was completed evaluating the feasibility of four potential log truck weights and configurations in Georgia. Findings were presented at the joint meeting of the Council on Forest Engineering and FORMEC, at the Southern Region Council on Forest Engineering meeting, and at meetings of the Board of Directors and Harvesting and Logistics Committee of the Georgia Forestry Association. Results were accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forest Engineering. Research was completed that evaluated the profitability of individual timber deliveries in the US South. Results from this research were published in the journal Forests. Research was conducted regarding log truck insurance premiums, premium increases, claims, log truck crash rates, and log truck condition in the US South. Findings from this research will be presented and submitted to peer-reviewed journals next year.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. In Press. Log truck crashes before and after weight limit increases in North Carolina and Virginia, USA. Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forest Engineering on June 2, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2021.1938899.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2021. Evaluating profitability of individual timber deliveries in the US South. Forests 12:437. 14 p.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2021. Comparison of log truck crash rates, severity, and contributing factors before and weight limit increases in two southern states, USA. Presented September 29, 2021, at the 43rd Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting and 53rd Annual FORMEC Meeting (Virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2021. Stakeholder perceptions of potential weight limit increases in Georgia, USA. Presented September 29, 2021, at the 43rd Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting and 53rd Annual FORMEC Meeting (Virtual).
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2021. Comparison of log truck crash rates, severity, and contributing factors before and weight limit increases in two southern states, USA. Presented August 3, 2021, at the 2021 Southern Region Council on Forest Engineering meeting; Auburn, AL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2021 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2021. Stakeholder perceptions of potential weight limit increases in Georgia, USA. Presented August 3, 2021, at the 2021 Southern Region Council on Forest Engineering meeting; Auburn, AL.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2020. Safety and efficiency benefits of state-legal log trucks on interstate highways in the South. Presented October 29, 2020, at the Society of American Foresters National Meeting (Virtual).

Progress 10/01/19 to 09/30/20

Outputs
Target Audience:This year's efforts reached timber harvesting businesses, foresters, forest products industry representatives, and researchers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Several training and professional development opportunities were canceled or postponed because of COVID-19. For example, the Logging Cost Analysis shortcourse was canceled during 2020. Nonetheless, project results were presented at nine meetings of researchers, foresters, logging business owners, and forest products industry officials at in-person meetings prior to mid-March of 2020 and at virtual events subsequently. Audiences included the Georgia Forestry Association, Forest Resources Association, Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Carolina Loggers Association, Council on Forest Engineering, and Georgia Master Timber Harvester program. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were presented to logging businesses and employees at Southeastern Wood Producers Association's annual meeting and several continuing educations workshops. Logging businesses in North Carolina were reached at the Carolina Loggers Association annual meeting. Foresters, landowners, and forest industry professionals received the results atForest Resources Association and Council on Forest Engineering meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?An ongoing project evaluating log truck weight limits and safety will be completed in the coming year. Manuscripts will be prepared and submitted to peer-reviewed journals. I anticipate collecting data on alternative energywood harvesting approaches that was delayed because of COVID-19 and a tornado at a field site. A new project relating to the development of new logging businesses will commence. Proposals will be prepared and submitted to funding agencies.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research was completed on the productivity and safety impacts of allowing log trucks to operate at state weight limits on interstate highways. Findings from this research was accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forest Engineering. Results of this study were communicated to foresters and forest industry representatives in a Georgia Forestry Association and Forest Resources Association webinar. Findings were communicated to logging business owners at the annual meetings of the Southeastern Wood Producers Association and Carolina Loggers Association. A follow-up study of log truck weights and configurations in Georgia began and will be completed next year. Research results regarding the use of processors in southern pine stands was presented in October of 2019 at the Council on Forest Engineering/FORMEC annual meeting in Sopron, Hungary. These research results were published in the International Journal of Forest Engineering in 2020. Research proposals were submitted that would, if funded, address challenges facing logging business development and evaluate the productivity, cost, and water quality impacts of alternative energywood harvesting systems in the South.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2020. Would weight parity on interstate highways improve safety and efficiency of timber transportation in the US South? International Journal of Forest Engineering 31:242252.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV and P.M. Grove. 2020. Timber security practices, vulnerabilities, and challenges in the US South. Society & Natural Resources 33:842858.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Grove, P.M., J.L. Conrad IV, and J. Dahlen. 2020. Volume and value recovery comparison of processor and conventional systems in pine stands of the U.S. South. International Journal of Forest Engineering 31:2936.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Grove, P.M., J.L. Conrad IV, T.G. Harris Jr., and J. Dahlen. 2020. Consulting forester timber sale practices in the US South. Forest Science 66:221229.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV and J. Dahlen. 2019. Harvesting productivity, cost, and timber utilization in conventional and processor harvesting systems in Georgia, USA. In: Proc. 42nd Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting and 52nd Annual FORMEC Meeting; Sopron, Hungary. 8 p.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2020. Safety and efficiency of state-legal log trucks on interstate highways in eight wood baskets in the US South. Forest Resources Association and Georgia Forestry Association Webinar. April 30, 2020.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2020. Safety and efficiency gains from log trucks on interstate highways. Presented March 7, 2020 at the annual meeting of the Carolina Loggers Association; Wilmington, NC.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2020 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2020. Safety and efficiency gains from log trucks on interstate highways. Presented March 6, 2020 at the annual meeting of the Southeastern Wood Producers Association; Waycross, GA.

Progress 02/04/19 to 09/30/19

Outputs
Target Audience:This year's work was targeted towards logging business owners, forest products industry managers, forest landowners, and log truck owners. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Results were presented at nine workshops during the year. Audiences included Georgia Master Timber Harvester and Alabama Professional Logging Manager participants and members of the Southeastern Wood Producers Association, Council on Forest Engineering, Forest Resources Association, and Georgia Forestry Association. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results were presented to logging business and log truck owners at Southeaster Wood Producers Association and Alabama Professional Logging Manager meetings. Foresters, landowners, and forest industry professionals received the results at Forest Resources Association and Council on Forest Engineering meetings. The Forest Logistics Summit was co-hosted by the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and Georgia Forestry Association to address the topic of challenges in timber transportation. Two presentations were given at this meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?I plan to complete ongoing projects on timber transportation safety and alternative approaches to harvesting wood for energy. Manuscripts will be prepared and submitted to peer-reviewed journals. Proposals will be prepared and submitted to funding agencies.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? My analysis of log truck crashes was published in the International Journal of Forest Engineering. These results were presented to log truck owners, logging business owners, forest industry professionals, and others at six meetings/workshops during 2019. A new timber transportation safety research study was inititiated during 2019 and will be completed during 2020. Research on the productivity and cost of processors was completed and published in Forest Science and the International Journal of Forest Engineering. This research was presented at regional and international conferences during 2019. A new project was inititiated to evaluate productivity and cost of alternative energywood harvesting systems in the U.S. South. This project is underway and will be completed during 2020. Two proposals were submitted that addressed the objective of documenting and analyze changes in logging business productivity and business structure.

Publications

• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Grove, P.M., J.L. Conrad IV, T.G. Harris Jr., and J. Dahlen. In Press. Consulting forester timber sale practices in the US South. Accepted for publication in Forest Science on September 23, 2019. doi.org/10.1093/forsci/fxz068
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2020 Citation: Grove, P.M., J.L. Conrad IV, and J. Dahlen. In Press. Volume and value recovery comparison of processor and conventional systems in pine stands of the U.S. South. Accepted for publication in the International Journal of Forest Engineering on August 30, 2019. doi.org/10.1080/14942119.2019.1663032
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV and J. Dahlen. 2019. Productivity and cost of processors in whole-tree harvesting systems in southern pine stands. Forest Science 65(6):767-775.
• Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV. 2019. Analysis of timber transportation accident frequency, location, and contributing factors in Georgia, USA 2006-2016. International Journal of Forest Engineering 30(2):109-120.
• Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Conrad, J.L., IV and J. Dahlen. 2019. Harvesting productivity, cost, and timber utilization in conventional and processor harvesting systems in Georgia, USA. In: Proc. 42nd Annual Council on Forest Engineering Meeting and 52nd Annual FORMEC Meeting; Sopron, Hungary. 8 p.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2019 Citation: Grove, P.M. 2019. Analysis of private timber sale transactions and landowner revenues in evolving markets in the U.S. South. M.S. thesis, University of Georgia, Athens, GA. 88 p.