Engineering and Legislative Options for Improved Timber Haulage in Scottish Forests: Inclusive Stakeholder Approach

Abstract

The forest industry in Scotland depends for its economic survival on the efficiency with which it can get the felled timber to the mill. This efficiency is shown to depend on pavement quality, particularly the aggregates used; the truck fleet available to extract the timber; and the interaction of these two factors and the legislative regime, including taxation, under which the forest traffic operates. Although there is a high degree of cooperation within the forest industry—pavement constructors, haulage companies, public and private forest owners, and local government authorities—there is need for a more comprehensive assessment of the interaction of the various factors affecting the forest timber haulage operation. This interaction has been studied in a preliminary manner using a specific highway management tool, HDM-4. Vehicle use regulations and taxation and their application are shown to be particularly constraining on the overall efficiency of the operation.