Costing the Forest Operations and the Supply of Hardwood in Tennessee

Sa？etak The purpose of this paper is to assess the delivered cost of pulpwood from natural hardwood stands in the State of Tennessee using forest operations supply chain analysis. The study is based on primary production and equipment data collected from logging firms using a statewide in-depth harvesting and transportation survey. Survey results were used to develop estimates for the delivery cost of hardwood pulpwood removed per green tonne unit hour. Findings revealed not only the variability of inputs attached to costing harvesting operations, but also the difficulty in identifying one typical harvest system for the state. This may be explained by the very diverse operating conditions and systems, as well as the low stumpage prices and high cost of harvesting and delivery that are predominantly managed by small scale operations. Results have shown that the cost of harvesting a tonne of wood for a distance of up to 50 km ranges from an average minimum of $43 per tonne to an average maximum of $51 per tonne. After this distance, the cost increases exponentially. The fact that this study is the first for the state that looks at the operations logistics indicates the lack of available knowledge of the true cost incurred by operators that may have a lasting impact not only on the continuity of logging operations but also the sustainability and availability of forest products and workforce