Forest trucking industry in Maine: A review on challenges and resolutions Anil Koirala1 and Anil Raj Kizha2 1Graduate Research Assistant, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Maine, USA 2Assistant Professor of Forest Operations, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Maine, USA DEMO Interna,onal Conference, Vancouver, Canada, September 20, 2016
18
Embed
Forest trucking industry in Maine: A review on challenges and resolutions · 2016-10-07 · Forest trucking industry in Maine: A review on challenges and resolutions Anil Koirala1
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Forest trucking industry in Maine: A review on challenges and resolutions
Anil Koirala1 and Anil Raj Kizha2
1Graduate Research Assistant, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Maine, USA
2Assistant Professor of Forest Operations, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Maine, USA
DEMO Interna,onal Conference, Vancouver, Canada, September 20, 2016
• Forest products industries being scattered throughout the state of Maine leads to long distance travel
• Average hauling distance for softwood sawlogs
and pulpwood was highest in the northern states
• On any given business day of the year, about
2,300 truck loads of wood leave the Maine forest for the markets.
Forest trucking in Northern Woods
Source: Lilieholm et al. 2010
Koirala and Kizha 2016 2
Forest trucking sector
• Transportation of forest products comprises around 20–50% of the
entire operational costs • Majority of transportation in forestry by trucks. • Trucking costs averages around $15 per cubic feet for sawlogs with an
average transportation distance of 90 miles (one-way)
• Many specific studies in forest trucking has been done on: - Back-hauling - Truck turnaround time - Forest roads
- Truck scheduling, etc.
• Even small improvement in trucking will improve entire operations. • Forest products industries, trucking companies, landowners, truck drivers will be
benefited.
Koirala and Kizha 2016 4
• Document challenges and problems to the forest trucking industry in the state of Maine.
• Deduce potential resolutions for the problems adopted in different regions.
Goals
Koirala and Kizha 2016 5
- Scientific articles, technical reports, professional society’s publications, government records, and graduate theses.
- Mainly focused on identifying challenges and their potential resolutions.
- 65 literatures related to trucking were selected (40 were used for the study).
- Publication date range: 2000 to 2016.
Literature review and synthesis
Literature Cited
40
Peer-‐reviewed journal ar,cles
27
Technical reports and publica,ons
6
Proceedings plus graduate theses
4
Government records and directories
3
Koirala and Kizha 2016 6
• Trade magazine: A powerful instrument for public views and real life scenarios and examples that the scientific literatures and reports might not accommodate. • More than 60 issues of six different trade magazines published in 2015 and
2016 were reviewed.
Review of trade magazines
7
Challenges Suggested resolu0ons Literature cited Region or country
Design and fuel efficiency
• Appropriate engine choice and axle ra,o
Lautala et al. 2015 US, Argen,na, Finland
• Opera,ng in lower level of rpm Tu`s et al. 2005 Southern US
• Trucking simulator BarreF 2001 Southeastern US
Routes and roads • Mixed integer linear programming Bont et al. 2012 Central Europe
• Combinatorial heuris,c approach Epstein et al. 2006 Chile
• Vector based road network projec,on
Kizha et al. 2015 California, US
• Automa,c road network planning Stückelberger et al. 2007 Switzerland
• Trade off analysis Chung et al. 2008 Idaho
• Enhancement of tractor roads to truck roads
Cavalli and Grigolato 2010 Italy
Summary of literature review
8
9
Challenges Suggested resolu0ons Literature cited Region or country
Geography and climate • An,-‐slip measures Malinen et al. 2014 Finland
• Winter harves,ng in heavy snowfall area
Abbas et al. 2011 and others Minnesota, Maine, New York, Vermont
• Different axle combina,on for different terrain
Han et al. 2010 Zamora-‐Cristales and Sessions 2015
Northern California, US west coast
Back-‐hauling of the empty trucks
• Efficient route to minimize empty phase
Carlsson and Rönnqvist 2007 General
• Proper network planning between sawmills and harves,ng sites
Epstein et al. 2007 General
Lack of skilled manpower • Increase in drivers’ benefits HireRight 2015 General
• Ownership sharing mechanism
Palander et al. 2012 Finland
Summary of literature review
Summary of literature review Challenges Suggested resolu0ons Literature cited Region or country
• Acquiring proper knowledge Owusu-‐Ababio and SchmiF 2015
Wisconsin 10
Trade magazines review Topics Findings Comments
Easy loader concept in new trucks (folded trailers)
Lowers trucking costs by around 16 -‐ 17 %. Fuel savings es,mated to be five percent.
General public percep0on towards log trucks and drivers
During accidents, trucks drivers has been vilified from general public even if it was not the truck driver fault.
Use of older trucks in south.
Trucks and drivers safety Companies should: -‐ Be careful while hiring drivers. -‐ Check driver’s-‐ MVR (Moving Viola,ons Report) – to see if one can be insured. -‐ Train drivers well ini,ally. -‐ Conduct random drug tests. -‐ Abide by all rules and regula,ons. -‐ Insist on pre-‐ and post-‐trip inspec,ons. -‐ Pay by hour or day instead of by load.
Helpful in minimizing serious accidents and change in people’s percep,on as well.
11
12
Topics Findings Comments
Maintaining the fleets Installing Fleetma,cs GPS in all trucking and harves,ng units.
-‐ Track in-‐woods equipment and trucks without interrup,ng work flow. -‐ Rate drivers: who’s speeding, hard brakes, hard starts.
ScaJered Market Hard to maintain transporta,on by sub-‐contrac,ng to trucking companies.
Running own trucks by harves,ng and logging companies
Compe00on with other businesses More opportuni,es for drivers to drive dump trucks in construc,on business in southern Maine.
Hard to compete with construc,on sector with low pay and higher risks in forest trucking.
Lumber Market Tight quotas on both pine pulpwood and pine logs. Slow lumber market.
Trade magazines review
Trade magazines review Topics Findings Comments Weight For about $400 per year per truck, a logger can
legally haul 38 metric tons in Texas. In Louisiana, in $15 per year per truck, a logger can get permit to haul 39 metric tons.
Variable schemes in different states can create misunderstandings and difficul,es.
Truck Scheduling Lead driver program. One lead driver for each crew will communicate important informa,on between management and all drivers on that crew. Lead driver will also func,on as a safety advocate to create awareness.
Truck drivers concerns -‐ Rela,vely low pay that can be impacted by weather, markets and long lines at mill.
-‐ Low freight rates. -‐ Few if any benefits. -‐ Inherent health issues (limited physical
ac,vi,es). -‐ LiFle opportunity for advancement. -‐ High worker’s comp costs.
13
• The primary focus of this review lies in the management of trucking system within the forest products transportation. • Common and most prominent challenges faced by the industry has
been covered. • Major technical aspects like road designs, supply chain modelling, truck
mechanism and road accidents are not discussed in detail.
Boundary of the study
Koirala and Kizha 2016 14
• Lack of skilled manpower is regarded as the major challenge faced by forest trucking industry at present ,me. • Work and opera,on safety has been considered by most of the logging and trucking companies. • ScaFered and shrinking market can be severe challenge to the industry.
Conclusions
Koirala and Kizha 2016 15
This project was supported by funding from Coopera,ve Forestry Research Unit, University of Maine and Maine Agriculture and Forest Experiment Sta,on: Award Number DE-‐EE0006297
Funding
Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station
Koirala and Kizha 2016 16
• Abbas, D., D. Current, M. Ryans, S. Taff, H. Hoganson, and K. N. Brooks. 2011. Harves,ng forest biomass for energy – An alterna,ve to conven,onal fuel treatments: Trials in the Superior Na,onal Forest, USA. Biomass Bioenergy. 35(11):4557–4564.
• Amrouss, A., N. El Hachemi, M. Gendreau, and B. Gendron. 2016. Real-‐Time Management of Transporta5on Disrup5ons in Forestry. CIRRELT.
• BarreF, S. M. 2001. A computer simula,on model for predic,ng the impacts of log truck turn-‐,me on ,mber harves,ng system produc,vity. MS Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Ins,tute and State University. Available online at: hFps://theses.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-‐02082001-‐150952/unrestricted/Thesis.pdf; last accessed March 21, 2016.
• BMV Maine. 2012. State of Maine Commercial Vehicle Laws & Regula,ons.
• Bont, L. G., H. R. Heinimann, and R. L. Church. 2012. Concurrent op,miza,on of harves,ng and road network layouts under steep terrain. Ann. Oper. Res.
• Carlsson, D., and M. Rönnqvist. 2007. Backhauling in forest transporta,on -‐ models, methods and prac,cal usage. Can. J. For. Res. 37(12).
• Cavalli, R., and S. Grigolato. 2010. Influence of characteris,cs and extension of a forest road network on the supply cost of forest woodchips. J. For. Res. 15(3):202–209.
• Chung, W., J. Stückelberger, K. Aruga, and T. W. Cundy. 2008. Forest road network design using a trade-‐off analysis between skidding and road construc,on costs. Can. J. For. Res. 38(3):439–448.
• Costello, B., and R. Suarez. 2015. Truck Driver Shortage Analysis. American Trucking Associa,on (ATA).
• Dowling, T. N. 2010. An Analysis of Log Truck Turn Times at Harvest Sites and Mill Facili,es. MS Thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Ins,tute and State University.
• Epstein, R., M. Rönnqvist, and A. Weintraub. 2007. Forest transporta,on. P. 391–403inHandbook of opera5ons research in natural resources,Springer.
• Epstein, R., A. Weintraub, P. Sapunar, E. Nieto, J. B. Sessions, J. Sessions, F. Bustamante, and H. Musante. 2006. A combinatorial heuris,c approach for solving real-‐size machinery loca,on and road design problems in forestry planning. Oper. Res. 54(6):1017–1027.
• Gallagher, T., T. McDonald, M. Smidt, and R. Tu`s. 2005. Increasing Truck Payloads and Performance. Wood Supply Res. Inst. Technical Release (5-‐R-‐1).
• Geisler, E., C. D. RiFenhouse, and A. R. Rissman. 2016. Logger Percep,ons of Seasonal Environmental Challenges Facing Timber Opera,ons in the Upper Midwest, USA. Soc. Nat. Resour. 29(5):540–555.
• Greene, W. D., S. A. Baker, and T. Lowrimore. 2007. Analysis of Log Hauling Vehicle Accidents in the State of Georgia, USA, 1988–2004. Int. J. For. Eng. 18(2):52–57.
• Han, H.-‐S., J. Halbrook, F. Pan, and L. Salazar. 2010. Economic evalua,on of a roll-‐off trucking system removing forest biomass resul,ng from shaded fuelbreak treatments. Biomass Bioenergy. 34(7):1006–1016.
References • Han, S.-‐K., and G. Murphy. 2012. Predic,ng Loaded On-‐Highway Travel Times of
Trucks Hauling Woody Raw Material for Improved Forest Biomass U,liza,on in Oregon. West. J. Appl. For. 27(2):92–99.
• HireRight. 2015. HireRight 2015 Transporta5on Spotlight. HireRight Inc. Available online at: hFp://media.cygnus.com/files/base/VSPC/whitepaper/2015/07/2015_Transporta,on_Spotlight_Report.pdf; last accessed May 22, 2016.
• Kizha., A. R., H. Han, and N. Anderson. 2016. Machine Ac,vi,es and Interac,on at the Landing in a Cable Yarding Opera,on. in Proceeding of 70th Interna5onal Conven5on, Forest Products Society, Portland OR.
• Kizha., A. R., H.-‐S. Han, T. Montgomery, and A. Hohl. 2015. Biomass power plant feedstock procurement: Modeling transporta,on cost zones and the poten,al for compe,,on. Calif. Agric. 69(3):184–190.
• Lautala, P. T., M. R. Hilliard, E. Webb, I. Busch, J. Richard Hess, M. S. Roni, J. Hilbert, et al. 2015. Opportuni,es and Challenges in the Design and Analysis of Biomass Supply Chains. Environ. Manage. 56(6):1397–1415.
• Libbey, S. S. 2000. An assessment of regional varia,on in the factors affec,ng the mill delivered price of so`wood sawlogs and pulpwood in nine states. MS Thesis, School of Forest Resources, University of Maine, Orono. 131 p.
• Lilieholm, R. J., P. R. Lammert, G. R. Lord, and S. N. Trosper. 2011. 2010 Directory of Maine’s Primary Wood Processors. csrf umaine.
• Malinen, J., V. Nousiainen, K. Palojarvi, and T. Palander. 2014. Prospects and Challenges of Timber Trucking in a Changing Opera,onal Environment in Finland. Croat. J. For. Eng. 35(1):91–100.
• McKinnon, A. C., and M. I. Piecyk. 2009. Measurement of CO2 emissions from road freight transport: A review of UK experience. Energy Policy. 37(10):3733–3742.
• MFPC. 2013. Economic Contribu5on of Maine’s Forestry Sector. Maine Forest Products Council.
• Murphy, G. 2003. Reducing Trucks on the Road through Op,mal Route Scheduling and Shared Log Transport Services. South. J. Appl. For. 27(3):198.
• NEFA. 2013. The Economic Importance of Maine’s Forest-‐based Economy 2013. North East State Foresters Associa,on.
• Owusu-‐Ababio, S., and R. SchmiF. 2015. Analysis of Data on Heavier Truck Weights: Case Study of Logging Trucks. Transp. Res. Rec. J. Transp. Res. Board. 2478:82–92.
• Palander, T., M. Vainikka, and A. Yletyinen. 2012. Poten,al Mechanisms for Co-‐opera,on between Transporta,on Entrepreneurs and Customers: A Case Study of Regional Entrepreneurship in Finland. Croat. J. For. Eng. 33(1).
• Pan, F., H.-‐S. Han, L. R. Johnson, and W. J. Elliot. 2008. Produc,on and cost of harves,ng, processing, and transpor,ng small-‐diameter (≤ 5 inches) trees for energy. For. Prod. J. 58(5).
• Schroeder, R., B. Jackson, and S. Ashton. 2007. Biomass Transporta,on and Delivery. P. 145–148inSustainable Forestry for Bioenergy and Bio-‐based Products Trainers Curriculum Notebook, Southern Forest Research Partnership, Inc. Athens, GA.
• Shaffer, R. M., and W. B. Stuart. 2009. A checklist for efficient log trucking. Available online at: hFps://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/54904; last accessed February 19, 2016.
• Short, J. 2014. Analysis of Truck Driver Age Demographics Across Two Decades. American Transporta,on Research Ins,tute (ATRI).
• Stückelberger, J., H. R. Heinimann, and W. Chung. 2007. Improved road network design models with the considera,on of various link paFerns and road design elements. Can. J. For. Res. 37(11):2281–2298.
• Talbot, B., and K. Suadicani. 2006. Road transport of forest chips: containers vs. bulk trailers. Stud Metsanduslikud Uurim. 45:11–22.
• Tu`s, R., T. Gallagher, T. McDonald, and M. Smidt. 2005a. Let’s Talk Trucking: Truck Performance and Fuel Consump,on. Wood Supply Res. Inst. Technical Paper (5-‐P-‐3).
• Tu`s, R., T. Gallagher, T. McDonald, and M. Smidt. 2005b. Let’s Talk Trucking: Trucks and Trailers In Use In South. Wood Supply Res. Inst. Technical Paper (5-‐R-‐8).
• Zamora-‐Cristales, R., and J. Sessions. 2015. Are double trailers cost effec,ve for transpor,ng forest biomass on steep terrain? Calif. Agric. 69(3):177–183.
• Zhang, D. J., and B. Tabarrok. 2000. Dynamic Modelling and Simula,on of Log-‐Hauling Trucks with Combined Tire-‐Cornering and Braking Forces. Mul5body Syst. Dyn. 1(4):381–403.
Koirala and Kizha 2016 17
Thank you Contact: Anil Koirala [email protected] Phone: +1 207-889-7154