Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.5552/crojfe.2023.2250
Logging Crew Attributes by Region in the Southeast USA
Carlos Diniz
; USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station 521 Devall Drive, Auburn, AL 36849 USA
Mathew Smidt
; USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station 521 Devall Drive, Auburn, AL 36849 USA
Jason Cooper
; USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station 4700 Old Kingston Pike Knoxville, TN 37919 USA
Yaoqi Zhang
; Auburn University 3301 FWS Building, 602 Duncan Drive Auburn University AL 36849 USA
Abstract
Urbanization, shrinking markets, and reduced forestry investment may affect harvesting efficiency in regions of the US South. To monitor these conditions, logging businesses have been tracked by surveys conducted by universities and trade associations. This project used a sampling approach coordinated with FIA utilization studies to sample logging crews based on a harvesting location. The approach was used to develop relationships among firm attributes and site attributes in six southeastern states (AL, GA, FL, NC, SC, and VA) from 2011 to 2018. The data included harvest attributes (location, harvest size and stand type) and logging firm attributes (production, crew labor, crew number, the number of machines by type, and machine age). For crew capital value, an equation was developed for this study using machine number and average machine age. The data from logging crews on 419 harvests were analyzed by region, harvest size, and stand type. Mean values for crew labor ranged from 3.1 to 7.1 workers. The average capital value per crew ranged from $220,000 to $524,000 per crew in the Coastal Plain with a narrower range in the Piedmont. In the Coastal Plain, higher productivity was detected for larger harvests and pine versus hardwood and mixed stands; however, in the Piedmont those trends were less obvious. Ratio of feller-bunchers, skidders and loaders were mostly 1:1:1 or 1:2:1 with 41% and 24% of samples, respectively. There were notable trends among Coastal Plain loggers regarding capital value and productivity with evidence supported by a production function. The differences in Piedmont (e.g., ownership size, market access, terrain, population density, etc.) may combine to limit daily production and labor productivity.
Keywords
logging business, timber harvest, productivity, labor, Piedmont, Coastal Plain
Hrčak ID:
310157
URI
Publication date:
14.7.2023.
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