A Break-even study of in-woods merchandising opportunities for hardwoods in the Alabama-Mississippi-Tennessee region

In most areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee the recent arrival and dramatic growth of the hardwood chipping industry has created concerns among some members of the hardwood manufacturing industry. Hardwood sawmill and furniture manufacturing personnel are concerned that marginal sawlog/pulpwood material is increasingly processed as chips rather than sawn into lumber. The potential exists for increased in-woods merchandising of hardwoods, and this paper evaluates how transportation costs and pricing differences between hardwood pulpwood and sawlogs affect merchandising and hauling decisions. A model was developed to assist individual users in evaluating their merchandising and transportation options