Timber products monitoring: unit of measure conversion factors for roundwood receiving facilities

Abstract

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program surveys primary roundwood receiving facilities in the United States to determine industrial uses of roundwood. The questionnaires provide general mill information such as location, type, and size, as well as procurement information such as the volume of roundwood received by product type, species, and geographic origin. The questionnaires are also used to estimate the volume, type, and use of mill residues. For ease of reporting, few restrictions are placed on the units of measure, meaning mills can report volume estimates in whatever units they choose. Conversion factors or procedures are then used to transform the survey data into regional and national standardized units. These conversion factors can vary by region, State, product type, species, survey year, or other variables. This report provides a compilation and discussion of the regional conversion factors used by FIA to transform mill survey roundwood and residue volume estimates into standard units of measurement.