Analysis of Timber Supplier Selection and Domestic Timber Requirements of the Forest Products Industry in Taiwan

Abstract

In this study, we used the supply selection criteria theory to formulate a questionnaire survey to analyze issues of wood materials selection criteria and domestic wood demand within the Taiwanese domestic forestry industry. The investigation surveyed 232 companies, and the results showed that companies currently in the forest products industry are mainly small and mediumsized. Only 26.29% of respondents within the past 3 yr had used at least some raw wood materials from a domestic source, and the main reason for that was ”there is an insufficient number of domestic sources”, while the most important factor for companies in the supply of raw wood material choice was ”stable source of supply of wood and wood products,”. The proportion of respondents who had used domestic wood in the past 3 yr was 59.32%, and they expected to increase the use of domestic wood in the future. Among companies that had not used domestic wood in the past 3 yr, 66.67% said that they would not consider using domestic wood. The most practical way to increase the demand for domestic wood would be to upgrade domestic timber self-sufficiency, while maintaining a commitment to sustainable forest management. To increase the use of domestic timber production, the number of domestic timber suppliers should be increased and the domestic wood self-sufficiency rate should be upgraded, while maintaining a commitment to sustainable forest management.