Forest Business Research

U.S. South linerboard industry: Restoring the competitive edge

The U.S. South is the world’s leading linerboard producer. The southern linerboard industry benefits from ample fiber supplies and well-developed industrial infrastructure. Rising trade and intensifying global competition, however, put the industry under increasing pressure to improve its competitive position...read more.

Competitiveness of the U.S. Wood Supply System

The forest products industry in the United States faces increased competition from every corner of the globe. In addition, population pressures and changes in land use in the US South where the industry has traditionally...read more.

Improving Timber Trucking Performance by Reducing Variability of Log Truck Weights

Transportation is not only the most public aspect of log extraction from the woods, but it is also the most expensive—and often limiting—step for the logging contractor. This project focused on the potential efficiency gains of fully loading trucks on a more consistent basis. Read more.

Collecting Forest Biomass with a Small Chipper on a Tree-Length Pine Operation

A recent study by the Center for Forest Business and Langdale Company of Valdosta evaluated how to modify a conventional tree-length pine harvesting operation to capture forest biomass. We added a small 260-hp chipper (Conehead 565) to a...read more.

Georgia logging industry has reduced mechanical failures in truck accidents

In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s logging vehicles in Georgia were frequently involved in accidents as a result of mechanical failure. While logging vehicles typically operate in much harsher working conditions than most other tractor-trailers, the mechanical failure rates were almost...read more.

Log Truck Weight Policy Is A Win-Win For Mill And Loggers

The Center for Forest Business recently evaluated a truck weight policy implemented by Rayonier at their Georgia mills in 2002. To discourage grossly overloaded log trucks at their facilities, Rayonier began imposing financial penalties on trucks where the gross vehicle weight (GVW) exceeded the state maximum of 80,000 lb. by more than 10%. Read more.

Survey Finds Causes, Costs of Lost Production

New research shows the Southern forest products industry loses an estimated $430 million a year by operating timber harvesting systems at only 2/3 of full production capacity. Forest scientists at the University of Georgia, the University of Maine and Louisiana State University surveyed...read more.

Value Recovery with CTL Harvesters in Southern Pine Stands

In Sweden and Finland, cut-to-length (CTL) harvesting system accounts for almost 90% of harvested wood volume compared to less than 1% in Georgia, although it is perceived by many to have environmental and value recovery advantages. We examined the...read more.