Primary Wood-using Mills Research Articles

Spatial Allocation of Timber Product Output Roundwood Receipts

Data from Georgia timber product output studies were used to develop models that spatially allocate roundwood receipts data from primary wood-using mills. Mill receipts data were converted to a cumulative frequency based on a distance from the mill to a county center. Distances were calculated as either straight line or shortest road distance, and county centers were determined as geographic centers or weighted by forest mass. Logistic and Gompertz nonlinear asymptotic model forms were used to model cumulative frequency of annual receipts within a repeated measures framework. It was determined that the number of mill employees and the shortest road distance were significant factors. The Gompertz model form predicted an unbiased cumulative frequency for the 2003 data using several spatial covariance types in the repeated measures analysis. These methods demonstrate the potential to spatially allocate a mill's total receipts to its surrounding counties in the absence of county-specific recording.

Use of georeferenced data to study clustering in the primary wood products industry of the US South

Forest business clusters offer a unique opportunity to improve competitiveness of the forest products sector and stimulate economic development in rural areas. This study utilized georeferenced data on the location of primary wood products manufacturers in the US South to examine spatial clustering within this industry. Independent spatial analyses, F-hat and L-hat, and a χ2 statistic provided evidence of regional clustering. A count data model was used to determine location preference of primary wood-using mills and identify factors promoting industry clustering. It was determined that access to a labor pool, low cost of primary inputs, presence of related industries, adequate transportation infrastructure, and low land values positively influenced clustering among primary wood-using mills. A marginal analysis indicated that counties with adequate transportation infrastructure and presence of related industries were most likely to attract new primary forest products manufacturers. These two factors increased the predicted number of sawmills by 26.83% and 22.65%, respectively. Increases in prices of logs and energy can deter the spatial aggregation of wood-using mills. Results provide evidence that public investments in infrastructure can have an important role in attracting wood products industry firms.