Wood Supply Chain Research Articles

Integrated sustainability assessment of wood building products: The case of larch and chestnut cascading systems in Northern Italy

Wood is increasingly being appreciated in construction due to its valuable environmental attributes. This paper explores the environmental and market performance of two wood supply chains in Northern Italy. Larch and chestnut wood are extracted and processed to obtain beams, planks, MDF panels and energy. LCA is performed to evaluate the environmental impacts of 1m3 of extracted wood through a cradle-to-gate approach. Then, a biogenic carbon analysis is carried out using the EN 16449:2014 standard including a comparison of different end-of-life treatments. Also, OSB is proposed as an alternative path for wood chips and contrasted to the current energy scenario. Moreover, solid wood beams and planks are compared with engineered wood products (EWPs). Lastly, a market analysis is conducted to assess the market trends of the different wood products studied.The LCA shows similar results for both wood species across most impact categories, with slightly higher values for the chestnut system. Most impacts are related to the production of MDF boards and the energy valorization of wood chips. Biogenic carbon analysis shows a negative balance of emissions with −314 and −205 kg of CO2 eq for larch and chestnut, respectively. It also suggests that OSB manufacturing can be a valuable alternative to the energy use of wood chips and that the end-of-life treatment with better results is recycling. The comparison of beams and planks with engineered wood products supports that solid wood poses a better environmental alternative in similar applications. Market analysis shows stagnation in the apparent consumption of wood products in the European market and a slight growth in the Italian one between 2018 and 2022. Overall, the systems studied suggest that the potential environmental benefits of using wood in construction are not being matched by current market trends.

Trade-offs between stump-to-roadside lead time and harvesting cost, when using different number of operators in a harvester-forwarder system

AbstractFor customer-oriented wood supply, buffering is required for flexibility to handle interactions in the wood procurement system. This includes balancing lead-time and operational cost by using stocks and production capacity as buffers. Despite the well-known challenge to balance the interactions between harvesting and forwarding in Nordic mechaniced CTL-operations, there has been limited research on how the machine groups can be staffed to enable flexibility and more focus on other measures to create flexibility. Therefore, this study explored trade-offs between wood lead-time and harvesting cost in the stump-to-roadside part of the wood supply chain by altering the numer of full-time working operators in the harvesting groups. This was done using discrete-event simulations implemented in Anylogic software. Input data included information about operational conditions in 1500 forest stands. The results revealed that the best balance was to have sufficient harvesting capacity to adjust wood lead times at the expense of increased harvesting costs. Of the tested options, the best balance was achieved when staffing a two-machine group with three operators, and thereby allocating 50% of the used work-shifts to regulating the field wood stock between the two machines. This resulted in the shortest lead times and the smallest harvesting cost increase. Compared to the option with no flexibility for stock adjustment (4 operators), the average lead-time could be reduced to one tenth at a cost increase of 3.4%. These findings have the potential to improve decisions of how harvesting groups are staffed to balance specific objectives of desired lead times and costs, which migh prove to be a valuable addition to the already used measures to manage wood flow.

An accurate handheld device to measure log diameter and volume using machine vision technique

Log diameter and volume measurements are crucial processes in the wood supply chain. Conventionally, the measurement mainly focuses on diameters and lengths. Despite the clear definition of conventional measurement methods, obtaining exact diameters is challenging due to the complexity of the measuring process and variability in the organic nature of logs. In this study, a smart handheld device, mainly composed of a single industrial camera, laser projectors, and a small embedded processor, is developed to capture and process log end images. Additionally, a measuring method is proposed, which consists of instance segmentation, contour fitting, and pose estimation, to automatically measure the diameters and estimate the volumes of cut-to-length (CTL) logs by using formulae. Specifically, instance segmentation is used to identify the salient object as a contour in the image space. Contour fitting is then applied to fit the contour into an ellipse, where the major and minor axes represent the long and short diameters of the object, respectively. Pose estimation is utilized to establish the relationship between the image space and physical space. Subsequently, several groups of comparative experiments are conducted with manual measurements as a reference. The experimental results indicate that, for log diameter measurement, approximately 97.33 % of the deviations between device measurement and conventional measurement can be expected to fall within a range of −0.54 cm and 0.61 cm, with mean absolute deviation (MAD) and mean relative deviation (MRD) of 0.25 cm and 0.78 %, respectively. In terms of volume estimations, MAD and MRD are found to be 0.23 and 0.56 %, respectively. The results imply that the device contributes to substantial improvements in accuracy, reliability, and traceability, and it shows promising potential to replace manual measurements.

Empirical Insights into Salvage Wood Logistics

Climate crises and natural disasters increasingly challenge wood supply chains by the critical need to transport high volumes of salvage wood quickly out of the forests to limit wood value loss and to prevent inducing forest calamities. Salvage wood logistics covering unimodal, multimodal and multi-echelon unimodal transport as well as storage plays an essential role in tackling existing problems and future risks by linking diverse actors along wood supply chains. Since little is known about specific challenges in salvage wood logistics, an extensive empirical study was conducted to evaluate logistics concepts and coping strategies involving stakeholders representing the entire wood value chain in Austria. The knowledge and experience of 161 forest owners, transport operators and wood-based industry actors were surveyed based on questionnaires with 108 matrix, rating, Likert scale and open questions. Results show a significant loss in salvage wood transport capacity due to long waiting times at receiving mills leading to more than one-fourth lost transport capacity in the unimodal salvage wood supply chain. Sustainable and resilient wood supply chain management can be achieved by increasing train and semitrailer truck wood transport as well as wood storage capacity and by improving both working conditions for self-loading log-truck drivers and cooperation between stakeholders.

Forestry electric vehicle energy routing and mapping GIS tool

ABSTRACT In the United States, new laws and regulations in several states require increasing percentages of vehicles produced in the future to be zero emission to address climate-related issues. Manufacturers are producing more Electric Vehicles (EVs), but potential customers are hesitant to adopt EVs due to range anxiety. Log truck owners are particularly hesitant to invest in electric log trucks (ELTs) due to forest harvest operations remote nature. However, regenerative braking utilizing gravitational potential energy provides the opportunity to increase the range of ELTs. This manuscript presents the workflow for calculating and mapping energy transportation cost on an ELT using a GIS-enabled tool and demonstrates the tool’s applicability through a case study. The study area, the McDonald Dunn Research Forest, included 5,607 ha of forest stands partitioned into 357 harvest polygons averaging 15.7 ha, 326 harvest landings and 295 km of road. Using remotely sensed data from the study site, the tool digitalizes the wood supply chain and optimizes routing based on minimum energy expenditure, providing results such as trip energy cost, distance, and time. The results show the tools forest operations planning potential, applicability as a GIS navigation system, and provides EV buyers with a tool to make informed decisions when investing in technology that could combat climate-related issues. EV adoption will reduce reliance on fossil fuels and potentially ameliorate other environmental problems.

Smart forestry – a forestry 4.0 approach to intelligent and fully integrated timber harvesting

ABSTRACT Forestry in general and the wood supply chain in particular are facing a wide range of challenges. Digitalization seems to be able to provide a remedy, but the forest-based sector’s high degree of heterogeneity and the large number of actors hampers the search for solutions – in Germany and beyond. In the presented Smart Forestry approach, we apply concepts from Forestry 4.0 to achieve intelligent and fully integrated timber harvesting. It is based on digital twins that are networked and orchestrated in an Internet of Things. First, we reengineer existing forestry processes, identify the relevant objects and messages, and specify templates for digital twins. The necessary Internet of Things technologies are selected and enhanced for use in forestry. Finally, we build first prototypes of the target system that are the basis for upcoming reference experiments in practice – from the forest owner via production in the forest and logistics to the timber buyer.

Evaluating the impact of wood flow management software on administrative costs and efficiency for wood suppliers in the Southeastern U.S.: a case study of Timber Resource Analytics and Contract Tracking software

The southeastern U.S. forest industry serves as a crucial source of raw materials for construction and paper production for the global economy. However, this industry faces persistent challenges in wood supply chain management, often centered around logistical inefficiencies and administrative burdens. Additionally, increased operational overhead, due to rising costs, has exerted strain on the business success of wood suppliers. Administrative procedures and record keeping have traditionally been a labor-intensive process for this sector of the wood supply chain. However, technological solutions, such as new wood flow and logistics management software, can enhance efficiency and cost-effectiveness of these procedures. This research investigated the impact of wood flow management software on administrative costs for southeastern U.S. wood suppliers. Utilizing a case study approach, we compared administrative time and cost savings of software users and non-software users, to determine potential financial benefits of software adoption. The research design centered on gathering insight from both user groups, through individual interviews, allowing for a comparative analysis of the software’s efficiency metrics. Results indicated that wood suppliers who utilized software saved an average of 43 hours per week on administrative tasks, resulting in estimated annual savings of approximately $62,000 United States dollars (USD). The greatest reported time and cost savings were attributed to scheduling jobs and organizing information. Adoption of wood flow logistics software may result in additional monetary savings through increased efficiency in administrative procedures and communications. These research findings will be useful to wood suppliers interested in improving operational efficiency and reducing administrative costs.

SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION AND MANAGEMENT OF AN INDUSTRIALIZED HOUSE

The PRO.CRE.AR. Bicentenario (Argentine Bicentennial Single-Family Housing Credit Program) implemented between 2012 and 2015 approximately, included a model of wooden houses, thus enhancing in Argentina the opportunity to have a house built with industrialized wooden elements. The paper compares at a conceptual level the construction of the same house (similar to the prototype named “Maderera”) as a traditional building, i.e., with brick masonry and reinforced concrete, and instead with industrialized wood construction as funded by the PRO.CRE.AR program: the comparison focuses on the amount of CO2 incorporated in the two constructive solutions. Alongside this assessment, conducted on the basis of estimated quantities of materials and data found in the literature, the paper examines the amount of CO2 not produced over the lifetime of the house when photovoltaic elements and solar panels are possibly adopted for local energy production and then discusses the positive impact of any energy storage systems. The results regarding the building energy demand and the CO2 saved support the choice of building industrialization for the wood supply chain, propose additional options for the deployment of wood construction, and evaluate the impact of home PV & solar panels for sustainability and integration into the technological system.

An optimization and discrete event simulation framework for evaluating delivery performance in Swedish wood supply chains under stochastic weather variations

ABSTRACT Delivery performance in wood supply chains is affected by carrying capacity on forest roads. Stochastic weather variations affect carrying capacity of roads and accessibility of harvested wood on landings. In Sweden, annual harvest scheduling is usually based on four seasons and road accessibility classes are set to match these seasons. In reality, road accessibility changes depend on weather variations not season. This causes a risk of poor delivery performance. Delivery performance is evaluated using two performance indicators, backorders (orders not delivered on time) and lead time (time from harvesting to delivery to mill). A data-analytic framework, combining optimization and simulation, is proposed to assess and evaluate these performance indicators for the wood supply chain under stochastic weather variations. An optimization model is used to generate a feasible harvest schedule for expected weather. This is thereafter evaluated given various weather scenarios using a discrete-event simulation model. The combination of optimization and discrete-event simulation is used to assess delivery performance over time, and changes in road accessibility caused by weather variation. An expected decrease in road accessibility implies a stable delivery performance, while an unexpected decrease causes a reduced delivery performance.

Production of Chestnut Coppice Biomass in a Framework of Low Mechanization and High Expectations to Combat Climate Change and Other Social Expectations

Climate change has become one of the most critical problems facing modern society. Sustainable forest management can be an important solution to counter the increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In particular, management of the chestnut forest could prove to be an effective strategy to absorb carbon dioxide as this species is characterized by sustained growth, so it has a high capacity to store carbon, and through the use of wood products, it is possible to sequester it for a considerable period. Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) forests cover an area of about 800,000 ha in Italy, most of which is managed as coppice. It plays a central role in the Latium Region where its productive function is very important, as it provides timber of excellent quality. The purpose of this paper is to verify whether the current management of chestnut is efficient, as well as whether retractable wood products can contribute to the fight against climate change. The chestnut coppice located in the municipality of Tolfa (Lazio region, Italy) produces timber for 352 m3/ha and stores about 390,000 kg of CO2. Wood residues and losses during woodworking, together with emissions for the use of machineries, generate emissions of 368,000 kg of CO2. The chestnut semi-finished products, with long-term use prospects, retain a net volume of 22,000 kg of CO2. Although this is good for combating climate change, the amount of CO2 stored is very low, less than 6% of the CO2 stored by functional unit. Chestnut wood has a high versatility of use, so it could replace several products generated by fossil raw materials. Moreover, the implementation of precision forestry, the adoption of forest management more oriented to favor larger plants, the development of local economies and the reduction in the carbon footprint of the wood supply chain through the use of sustainable technologies would increase the capacity for climate change mitigation and increase the added value of its products.

Five years after Vaia

The Vaia Storm had a significant impact on forests and on the related sector in North-Eastern Italy, considerably influencing forest management and the wood supply chain. Five years after the event, on October 30th 2023 in the Aula Magna of the Agripolis campus of the University of Padua, young researchers from the TESAF and DAFNAE Departments presented their results from ongoing research on windthrow and related cascade disturbances (e.g. bark beetle outbreaks). In the first part of the day, contributions from the various regions (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Veneto) and the autonomous provinces (Bolzano/Bozen and Trento) were presented, with an update on the post-event management experiences and problems. In the second part, the projects financed by the University of Padua were presented (VAIAFRONT of TESAF and the “Young Researchers for Vaia” initiative), followed by talks delivered by doctoral students and research fellows who presented the main results relating to the research conducted on the Vaia storm. The problem was addressed from different points of view and with a multidisciplinary approach, analyzing aspects related to silviculture and forest ecology, mechanization and forest uses, entomology, hydrology, geomatics and the socio-economic context. Given the interest of the topics covered, here we report the summary of the contributions presented by the young researchers, with the hope that this will encourage the exchange of knowledge and provide inspiration for further collaborations and in-depth studies.

Can On-Farm Wood Meet the Global Wood Supply and Save Tropical Forests? A Systematic Review

Global wood supply is faced with an annual escalating scarcity threat by population growth and increased wood demand. Natural forests, a chief source of wood, are under pressure from massive deforestation and degradation, whereas plantation forests are faced with challenges of land tenure and competition from other land uses. This systematic review aimed to point out the contribution of on-farm trees to global wood supply and tropical forest conservation. The study adopted the Sample-Phenomenon of Interest-Design-Evaluation-Research type framework to identify relevant literature. Both grey and peer-reviewed publications were considered. Of the 3800 publications identified, 42 substantially met the inclusion criteria and were selected for data extraction. A huge imbalance was evident in the wood supply and demand that forest production could not satisfy alone. On-farm trees were observed to be a significant alternative source of wood supply in South Africa, India, and Kenya, supplying 27, 36, and 70 per cent of total apparent consumption, respectively. Where importation reliance was low and a low forest production rate, on-farm trees contributed more than 50% of the total apparent consumption. China had a high reliance on importation. On-farm trees contributed at least a supply of 8% of total apparent consumption. On-farm trees were the chief source of wood fuel. On-farm trees contribute substantially to the supply chain of industrial roundwood, woodfuel, and sawn wood, reducing the need to infiltrate the forests. Where the full potential of on-farm trees is inadequately exploited, on-farm trees can sustainably contribute to the wood supply chain and save tropical forests

Enhancing wood efficiency through comprehensive wood flow analysis: Methodology and strategic insights

Wood, an essential natural resource in human civilization, remains widely used despite advances in technology and material substitution. The surge in greenhouse gas emissions and environmental concerns accentuates the need for optimizing wood utilization. Material flow analysis is a powerful tool for tracking material flows and stocks, aiding resource management and environmental decision-making. However, the full extent of its methodological dimensions, particularly within the context of the wood supply chain, remains relatively unexplored. In this study, we delve into the existing literature on wood flow analysis, discussing its primary objectives, materials involved, temporal and spatial scales, data sources, units, and conversion factors. Additionally, data uncertainty, data reconciliation and crucial assumptions in material flow analysis are highlighted in this paper. Key findings reveal the significance of wood cascading and substitution effects by replacing non-wood materials, where they can reduce greenhouse gas emissions more than the natural carbon sink of forests and wood products. The immediate impact of short-term wood cascading might not be as robust as the substitution effect, with energy substitution showcasing better results than material substitution. However, it's crucial to note that these conclusions could experience significant reversal from a long-term and global perspective. Strategies for improving wood efficiency involve maximizing material use, advancing construction technologies, extending product lifespans, promoting cascade use, and optimizing energy recovery processes. The study underscores the need for standardized approaches in wood flow analysis and emphasizes the potential of wood efficiency strategies in addressing environmental challenges.

Dynamic material flow analysis of wood in Germany from 1991 to 2020

Severe climate change and urgent climate action have raised concerns about wood. Overharvesting and increased wood waste are putting immense pressure on sustainable forest management and the global carbon budget. In Germany, a vital wood supplier and user in Europe, the wood supply chain's production, consumption, trade, and recycling have been insufficiently investigated. To tackle this challenge, we conducted a comprehensive dynamic wood flow analysis from 1991 to 2020. Approximately 2143 million cubic meters of standing timber were felled in German forests over the past three decades, with 80% used for materials and 20% for energy purposes. Wood flow patterns were susceptible to market demand and forest disturbances like drought, storms, and insect infestations. The storm in 2007 left a notable impact, leading to the highest figures ever recorded for various wood products. Notably, the net forest carbon sink, carbon storage in forest products, and energy substitution effect (replacing fossil energy with wood) reached 160, 332, and 343 million tons of carbon, respectively. However, the transition to renewable energy, wooden buildings, and wood and paper packaging demands further strains the wood supply chain. To promote sustainable forest management and achieve climate neutrality, we propose potential strategies for consideration.

Log truck transportation challenges and innovative solutions: evaluating the perspectives of truck drivers, logging business owners, and foresters

ABSTRACT The wood supply chain in the United States (U.S.) is experiencing significant challenges related to truck transportation. Obstacles include truck driver recruitment and retention, increases in insurance and fuel costs, insufficient training, and truck or part shortages. This project sought to evaluate transportation inefficiencies in the Georgia, U.S. wood supply chain and to determine obstacles leading to a disconnection between logging business owners, foresters, and truck drivers. The survey targeted two populations: 1) logging business owners/foresters; and 2) log truck drivers. In addition, four case studies were conducted to evaluate innovative strategies that established businesses have enacted. Both groups indicated that a fair annual log truck driver salary should range from $60,000 to $79,000 (USD); however, owners/foresters indicated lower salaries to be more favorable (p = 0.009) and drivers indicated higher salaries to be more favorable (p = 0.029). Half of log truck drivers had been involved in timber transportation for 15 years or more, but 24% of respondents had been involved for less than 5 years, indicating that a new generation of log truck drivers are entering the workforce. Barriers to becoming a log truck driver include limited fringe benefits, lower wages relative to other trucking sectors, and lack of driver experience. Timber transportation capacity is impacted the most by insurance, driver availability, and fuel prices. This study confirmed that there are numerous obstacles facing timber transportation, but also found agreement between drivers and business owners, as well as innovative strategies that are being used throughout the region to improve efficiency.

Rigorous environmental and energy life cycle assessment of blast furnace pig iron in Brazil: The role of carbon and iron sources, and co-product utilization

Iron and steel are valuable commodities worldwide. Pig iron is produced mainly by blast furnaces, being the primary raw material used in steel manufacturing. The ironmaking sector is intensive in energy use and greenhouse gas emission; however, detailed information on further environmental impacts concerning the blend of material sources and co-product utilization as well as a rigorous application of the life cycle assessment (LCA) method are scarce. This study aimed to assess the environmental and energy performance of the production of 1.0 t of pig iron from cradle-to-gate via LCA. Global warming potential (GWP), renewable and non-renewable cumulative energy demand (CEDR and CEDNR), fossil resource scarcity (FRS), mineral resource scarcity (MRS), blue water footprint (WF), and land use (LU) were assessed in five scenarios in the Brazilian context, being S0: the baseline scenario with coke as a carbon source; S1: partial utilization of by-/co-products (top gas and slag), representing the current industry practice; S2: carbon and iron input blends proportional to the current industry practice; S3: current industry mix (S1 and S2 combined); and S4: ex-ante (forecast) scenario with an enhanced blend of inputs and maximum utilization of co-products. Results show that, when evaluated against an unrefined but realistic fossil-based state of the technology (S0), the existing practice in co-product utilization (S1) provided more gains in terms of GWP, CEDNR, FRS, and MRS (11 % on average) than the current iron and carbon input blends (S2, 9 % on average) if compared side-by-side. The current industry mix (S3) showed further improvement in environmental and energy performance (22 % on average) compared with the baseline scenario (S0), while the forecasted scenario (S4) indicated additional gains, reducing GWP by 47 % (down to ~1 t CO2 eq), CEDNR by 69 %, FRS by 70 %, MRS by 12 %, and WF by 5 %. The GWP, CEDNR, and FRS presented the greatest improvements with a significant statistical difference, and using charcoal as a carbon source was key in that regard, despite the great increase in CEDR (3× for biomass) and LU (2×) indicators suggesting that a robust sustainable wood supply chain will be decisive for the sector strategy. The sensitivity analysis (SA) and benchmarking of the ex-ante scenario (S4) showed notable competitiveness of such pig iron in the global market, especially for carbon and energy footprints, reaching 0.69 t CO2 eq t−1 pig iron and 4.6 GJNR t−1 pig iron from 100 % sustainable charcoal and including rail logistics (SAiv), which are from 2× to 5× smaller than those of any conventional blast furnace pig iron reported in the consulted literature.

Leveraging Digital Twins to Support Industrial Symbiosis Networks: A Case Study in the Norwegian Wood Supply Chain Collaboration

Despite the powerful potentials of digital twins as regards achieving sustainable operations and supply chain management, there is currently very little research on using digital twins for industrial symbiosis, and even less research investigating user needs. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct sufficient research on the market and user needs before setting the framework of digital twins for industrial symbiosis. We interviewed six companies in the Norwegian wood industry that could potentially share one symbiosis network. Based on the interviews, we analyzed the needs of potential digital twins for industrial symbiosis, aiming to understand the user’s point of view on digital twins for industrial symbiosis. The research is expected to provide intellectual support for future digital twins’ design from the user perspective. This paper not only promotes the design of digital twins for industrial symbiosis from the user perspective, but also provides an analytical framework for the user perspective analysis before the development of digital twins-based supply chain collaboration in the industrial symbiosis network.

Lead time and quality driven transport strategies for the wood supply chain

Fresh roundwood loses quality during storage at roadside primarily through blue stain and insect infestation leading to wood value loss. The potential of altitude zone-based risk forecasts to prioritize spruce sawlog piles at devaluation risk for unimodal and multimodal transport strategies was evaluated with a discrete event simulation model. This enabled tracking roundwood quality development through the supply chain as well as identifying and modelling the relationship between lead time and roundwood quality devaluation. Respective regression analyses showed that the procurement lead time is a significant predictor of the downgraded roundwood amount, explaining over 98% of the variance of downgraded wood. This knowledge was applied to provide practical decision support for procurement management. Presented transport strategies using roundwood quality forecasts significantly outperformed those currently being used by preventing, on average, 57% of the roundwood devaluation in a case study. Moreover, 73% of the devaluation could be avoided if up to 25% supplementary truck transport capacity was deployable in peak periods. If no additional self-loading trucks were available, still 67% of the devaluation could be prevented by using the bottleneck resource more efficiently through transferring 20% of the roundwood to rail wagons leading to a more sustainable and resilient wood procurement.

Accuracy of a Smartphone-based freeware solution and two shape reconstruction algorithms in log volume measurements

Enhancing accuracy, mobility, safety, ergonomics, data transfer and traceability functions in log measurement applications are prerequisites of modern business in the wood supply chain. Various methods and methodologies have been tested so far to overcome the current limitations in the attempt to move the wood supply chain to Forestry 4.0 concepts, many of which still share the same problem, namely the high costs incurred by data acquisition. A freeware application was used in this study to collect point cloud data on 612 logs of various sizes and two external shape reconstruction algorithms, namely Random Sampling and Consensus (RANSAC) and Poisson interpolation, were then used to produce volume estimates under a mobile scanning approach (MS). These were compared against the estimates produced by a highly-detailed manual measurement (MM). At the sample level, which included logs reaching volumes of more than 3.5 m3, the differential bias of the methods ranged between 0.037 and 0.075 m3, while the errors metrics such as the mean absolute error (MAE), mean squared error (MSE) and root mean square error (RMSE) were between 0.047 and 0.081, 0.006 to 0.023 and 0.076 to 0.151 m3. The results indicate that, although there was a proportional bias in MS estimates, the approach would be useful for logs in size of 0.25 to 0.40 m3, while these log sizes largely resemble the characteristics of the wood supply in many areas of the world. Further studies should focus on the capability and accuracy of the tested application to instantly produce accurate estimates, as well as on the integration of deep learning to produce better estimates.

Timber Transportation Crash and Vehicle Defect Rates in the US South

Highlights Crash rates among southern log truck fleets were 176% higher than log truck fleets in the Lake States. Vehicle and driver out-of-service rates were similar among log trucks in the US South, Northeast, Lake States, and West. The age and condition of log trucks did not explain elevated crash rates in the US South. Abstract. The US South harvests more than 200 million tonnes of timber annually, nearly all of which is transported from forests to mills by truck. Log truck fleets in the US South have been struggling with rising liability insurance premiums. The goal of this study was to compare crash rates and the condition of log trucks operating in the US South to log trucks operating in other US regions and trucks in other industries. A sample of inspection and crash data were collected from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Vehicle and driver out-of-service rates, vehicle defect rates, and crash rates among log truck fleets in the US South were compared to log trucks in other US regions and to 50 large non-log truck fleets. Crash rates among southern log truck fleets were 176% higher than log truck fleets in the Lake States and 48% higher than 50 large non-log truck fleets. Vehicle and driver out-of-service rates were similar among log truck fleets in each region (p > 0.25), but southern logging business fleets had higher vehicle out-of-service rates than 50 large non-log truck fleets (p = 0.02). Driver education, technology implementation, improved fleet maintenance practices, and weight limit parity on interstate highways may improve timber transportation safety. Keywords: Log trucks, Logging accidents, Logging safety, Timber harvesting, Wood supply chain.