Log truck transportation challenges and innovative solutions: evaluating the perspectives of truck drivers, logging business owners, and foresters

ABSTRACT

The wood supply chain in the United States (U.S.) is experiencing significant challenges related to truck transportation. Obstacles include truck driver recruitment and retention, increases in insurance and fuel costs, insufficient training, and truck or part shortages. This project sought to evaluate transportation inefficiencies in the Georgia, U.S. wood supply chain and to determine obstacles leading to a disconnection between logging business owners, foresters, and truck drivers. The survey targeted two populations: 1) logging business owners/foresters; and 2) log truck drivers. In addition, four case studies were conducted to evaluate innovative strategies that established businesses have enacted. Both groups indicated that a fair annual log truck driver salary should range from $60,000 to $79,000 (USD); however, owners/foresters indicated lower salaries to be more favorable (p = 0.009) and drivers indicated higher salaries to be more favorable (p = 0.029). Half of log truck drivers had been involved in timber transportation for 15 years or more, but 24% of respondents had been involved for less than 5 years, indicating that a new generation of log truck drivers are entering the workforce. Barriers to becoming a log truck driver include limited fringe benefits, lower wages relative to other trucking sectors, and lack of driver experience. Timber transportation capacity is impacted the most by insurance, driver availability, and fuel prices. This study confirmed that there are numerous obstacles facing timber transportation, but also found agreement between drivers and business owners, as well as innovative strategies that are being used throughout the region to improve efficiency.

KEYWORDS:

• Supply chain
• Southeast
• harvesting
• logistics
• workforce
• efficiency

Introduction

The transportation component of the wood supply chain is essential to the success of the forest products industry, as it ensures delivery of raw materials from the woods to manufacturing facilities (Kogler and Rauch 2018; Cole et al. 2019). Movement of raw materials from harvest sites to mills may require multiple independent businesses such as wood dealers, logging contractors, and trucking companies, to coordinate deliveries (Conrad 2021a). These businesses often have different objectives, management strategies, challenges, and opportunities for profit or loss (Grove et al. 2020). Tractor-trailers dominate woody material transportation in the southeastern U.S (Conrad 2018) and other countries (Devlin et al. 2016). Trucks may be owned by a logging business or a separate entity such as a specialized trucking company with a contractual relationship (Koirala et al. 2017).

On average, 24 million dry tonnes (t) of timber was harvested annually in Georgia between 2005 and 2014 (Georgia Forestry Commission 2021a). The forest industry of Georgia generated $41.3 billion (USD) in economic activity in 2021, which is largely dependent upon logging contractors and truck drivers to deliver wood to the markets (Georgia Forestry Commission 2021b). Previous studies have indicated that transportation is one of the largest components of delivered wood cost in Georgia, accounting for as much as 25% of total costs for low value forest products, such as pulpwood (Conrad 2018). Currently the U.S. wood supply chain is experiencing significant logistical and operational bottlenecks in transportation. Noted obstacles include challenges in hiring and retaining truck drivers (Ju and Belzer 2022), absorbing rapid cost increases, log truck insurance availability and premium increases (Conrad 2018, 2022; Conrad et al. 2018), an aging workforce (He et al. 2021), and inadequate driver training (Smidt et al. 2021).

Logging in the U.S. has experienced a reduction in the number of workers due to factors including mechanization within the industry leading to productivity gains, and a lack of successful recruitment or retainment of employees. From 1997 to 2017 total employment in the logging industry in the southeastern U.S. decreased by 30% (He et al. 2021). Challenges to workforce recruitment within the logging sector can be attributed to many factors. Low profit margins (Conrad 2021a), uncompetitive wages and benefits (Conrad 2021b), and physically demanding work (Bureau of Labor Statistics US Department of Labor 2023) are denoted obstacles. Other studies have indicated that safety challenges (Cole et al. 2019), limited technical training (Smidt et al. 2021), weather dependency (Dangle et al. 2019), and negative public perception of the profession (Egan and Taggart 2004; Egan 2009, 2011) are also impacting the workforce.

Other obstacles within forest transportation are the associated costs that create challenges for many contractors. Conrad (2018) defined the following forest transportation cost categories: driver wages, benefits, and overhead, fuel, truck payments, tires, maintenance and repair, insurance, support personnel, licenses and vehicle registration, and employment screening. Most initial capital investments are held within the transportation equipment itself such as trucks, trailers, and chip vans (He et al. 2021). In 2017, the cost to purchase a new log truck was $136,091 (USD), with an average used log truck costing $30,333 (Conrad 2018). The cost to own and operate a single log truck and trailer in Georgia in 2017 was $153,927 yr⁻¹ (Conrad 2018). In 2021, the total marginal cost of transportation increased by 12.7% across all industries. Increases in cost are influenced by repair, maintenance, and rising wages that have created an operating cost of $74.65 hr⁻¹ for commercial trucking (Leslie and Murray 2022). Lastly, the volatility and recent increase in fuel prices has become a large obstacle for many business owners. In February of 2020, the average price of on-highway diesel fuel for the U.S. was $2.910 gal⁻¹ ($0.769 l⁻¹), and $2.959 gal⁻¹ ($0.782 l⁻¹) for the East Coast U.S. As of 6 February 2023, the average price of on-highway diesel fuel for the U.S. was $4.539 gal⁻¹ ($1.199 l⁻¹), and $4.752 gal⁻¹ ($1.255 l⁻¹) for the East Coast (EIA, U.S. Energy Information Administration 2023). Both averages increased by 60% in three years. Fuel prices increased by 75% during the first half of 2022 before falling. The increases in fuel prices were estimated to increase timber transportation costs by $1.2 billion annually in the U.S (Blinn 2022).

Another commonly noted issue for log truck owners is trucking insurance premiums (Conrad 2017). Increases in insurance premiums for the logging industry are due to increased collisions, cost of claims, medical care, and litigation fees (Sams 2020). Log truck liability insurance premiums have risen from 2018–2021, ranging from less than $5,000 to over $30,000 truck⁻¹ yr⁻¹ (Conrad 2023). With rising insurance premiums many logging businesses have been forced to downsize, modify their operations, or close their business (Conrad 2023).

In addition to rising insurance premiums and claims, forest transportation has increasingly become a public safety concern. Concerns are often derived from negative public perceptions of the appearance of log trucks and trailers and media coverage of crashes involving log trucks (Conrad 2017). One way of adapting to safety needs has been through industry specific training. The Sustainable Forest Initiative reported that half of participants in their program believe transportation safety should be a primary training topic (Smidt et al. 2021). Cole et al. (2019) suggested that safety training programs should focus on rollover risk, truck maintenance needs, and defensive driving. Safety practices noted can include pre-trip inspections, dash cameras, GPS monitoring, pre-employment screenings, and regular safety training (Conrad 2023).

These transportation obstacles have led to the need for greater adaptations within the forest products industry. Some logging companies have partnered with large commercial carriers to transport timber, due to the financial and logistical challenges of owning and operating trucks (Conrad 2023). An example of a traditional freight management company hauling logs is JB Hunt, the largest dedicated transportation provider in North America (Hunt 2020). Another example of a non-traditional freight management company is Hines Trucking, that operates in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Hines Trucking hauls roundwood logs in addition to over 90,000 t per week of chips (Hines Trucking Inc 2023). If proven to be profitable and more efficient, these models of transportation management could become more prevalent if timber transportation obstacles persist.

Previous forest transportation related research has primarily focused on truck insurance, driver safety and training, logging business demographics, and transportation costs. Most of these studies were based on data collected from industry sources, foresters, and business owners. However, with the shortage and growing demand for qualified truck drivers, it is important to understand and compare the perspectives of the workforce (log truck drivers) and the employers (logging and truck fleet business owners and foresters). According to the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI), the truck driver shortage ranks second in the top 10 trucking industry issues (American Transportation Research Institute ATRI 2022). Given this significant challenge, it is necessary to understand what creates an attractive work environment for both parties. The goal of this project is to identify barriers and potential solutions to efficient log transportation, determine where logging business owners/foresters and log truck drivers agree or disagree on these, and propose solutions based on their perceptions and opinions, as well as insights from case studies.

Materials and methods

Two survey instruments were developed for the following groups: 1) logging business owners/foresters (owner/forester) and 2) log truck drivers. The owner/forester questionnaire contained 15 questions, whereas the log truck driver questionnaire contained 16 questions. Both questionnaires were constructed to determine the perceptions and opinions of the respondents regarding timber transportation issues in Georgia. Each questionnaire contained multiple choice, open ended, and Likert scaled questions. Likert questions were scaled from 1–5 and were designed to determine: level of agreement with statements (four questions), importance of variables presented (one question), change in values (two questions), or variable impact on outcomes (one question). The survey instruments and protocols were submitted to the University of Georgia Institutional Review Board (IRB). Upon review, the IRB determined that this project does not meet the definition of human subjects’ research.

Log truck driver survey

Questionnaires were distributed at five mills in Georgia, including three pulp mills and two sawmills. Mills were identified by selecting regions of Georgia that were unlikely to have log truck delivery overlap. In-person visits were made to each mill and paper questionnaires were distributed to log truck drivers for a 6-hour period. Paper questionnaires were given to drivers as they entered the mill at the scale house, completed by the driver during unloading, and returned when they exited the mill. This methodology allowed for data collection from log truck drivers employed by logging businesses as well as contract haulers, including owner-operators. Questions regarding current annual salaries used an assumption of a 40-hour work week with 48 weeks yr⁻¹.

Logging business owner/forester survey

The online logging business owner/forester questionnaire was administered using the Qualtrics (2022) survey software program. Respondents were identified through numerous forestry related professional organizations and associations in Georgia. There were 418 known survey invitation e-mails sent; however, the true number of invitations sent is unknown. This is due to professional and industry associations distributing the survey to members themselves. The survey was distributed through e-mail list-servs with an anonymous response link that could only be completed once and was active from 31 October 2022 to 12 January 2023.

Case studies

Four case studies were conducted across the southeastern U.S. to investigate businesses that have enacted innovative strategies to combat transportation difficulties. Interviews were completed in Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama either in-person or virtually. Twenty questions were developed to gain insight on transportation challenges, innovative solutions, and strategies employed. Innovative businesses were classified based on type of approach and included: benefit focused, employee and fleet management, specialized contract hauling, and online networking platform. Our intent was to determine transportation “best practices” and provide cases of success throughout the southeastern U.S. by evaluating “best-in-class” systems and approaches. These qualitative data provided context and insight into findings from the surveys and provided opportunities to suggest practices for improving transportation efficiency.

Data analysis

The Shapiro-Wilks Goodness of fit test indicated that the survey response data was normally distributed. When testing for significant differences between owner/forester and log truck driver responses for potential impact of variables on timber transportation, a two tailed t-test was used. When testing for significant differences between the group responses regarding a fair annual log truck driver salary, a Z-test of two independent sample proportions was conducted. Likert scale responses were considered to be significantly different from neutral if the 95% confidence interval did not overlap with the neutral response ($\bar{x}=3.0)$. Statistical analysis was conducted using JMP Pro 16 software (SAS Institute, Inc 2021) using an α = 0.05 significance level.

Results

Log truck driver survey

Response rate to the log truck driver survey was 97%. Data was collected from a total of 178 log truck drivers delivering to five mills throughout Georgia. Categories of drivers included employees of logging businesses (65%), owner-operator contract haulers (20%), and employees of contract haulers (15%). Contract haulers are independent companies that transport timber but do not purchase or harvest timber and are not affiliated with a forest products mill. Ninety-nine percent of the respondents were male with only one female truck driver completing the survey. The average reported age was 48 years and ranged from 23–79 years. Fifty percent of drivers reported being involved with forest transportation for 15 years or more, followed by 24% of drivers having less than 5 years of experience, 16% indicated 5–9 years, with the remaining 10% indicating 10–14 years of experience.

Seventy-five percent of drivers indicated that back-hauls (return trip loaded or partially loaded) were picked up on fewer than 25% of deliveries. Only 13% of drivers indicated making a backhaul on 25–50% of loads. Thirty-five percent of log truck drivers reported that their average in-woods turn time (time from when the driver leaves the highway to time the driver returned to the highway after loading) was 16–30 minutes. In addition, 35% of drivers also reported their average mill turn time (time from when the driver leaves the highway to the time returned to the highway unloaded) was 31–45 minutes (Figure 1). However, 54% of respondents stated mill turn time was greater than in-woods turn time with 73% of drivers indicating that average mill turn times were greater than 31 minutes.

Figure 1. Truck driver reported in-woods and mill turn times.

When asked what factor affects the productivity of log truck drivers the most, 54% indicated mill unloading time, followed by in-woods loading time (13%), and payload (10%) (Table 1). Sixty-five drivers (37%) provided their current annual salary, which averaged $63,674 and ranged from $33,600–$140,000, with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 31%.

Table 1. The six most important factors affecting log truck driver productivity.

Factors	Percentage
Mill Unloading Time	54%
In-Woods Loading Time	13%
Payload	10%
Route	9%
Other	8%
Lack or Inefficiency of Dispatching	7%

N = 168. “Other” responses included write-in answers such as “both mill and in-woods turn times,” “weather,” and “all the above” indicating that all the answer choices were appropriate.

Log truck drivers indicated that income was the most attractive variable to becoming or being a log truck driver, with a mean of 4.43/5 followed by the ability to be home at night and maintain a work life balance, with a mean of 4.08/5 (Table 2). The most important barrier preventing interest in driving a log truck was less or no benefits offered 4.17/5 followed by low wages compared to similar jobs with a mean of 3.94/5, and a lack of experience with a mean of 3.78/5 (Table 1). However, 61% of respondents were either somewhat or very satisfied with being a log truck driver, compared to the other 39% of drivers who were neutral or unsatisfied with being a log truck driver.

Table 2. Variables and their associated appeal and/or barriers to being/becoming a log truck driver.

Variable	Mean
Variables associated with the appeal to becoming/being a log truck driver. (N = 168)
Income	4.43 a*
Ability to be home at night/work life balance	4.08 b*
Flexible work hours	4.02 b*
Family business	4.01 b*
Driving is enjoyable	3.92 c*
Stable career	3.13 d*
Variables associated with barriers preventing drivers from being interested in driving a log truck. (N = 161)
Lesser/no benefits offered	4.17 a*
Lower wages	3.94 b*
Lack of experience	3.78 c*
Drug tests	3.77 c*
Negative public perception	3.63 d*
Increased physical labor when compared to distribution trucking	3.23 e*

Rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1=large negative effect, 5=large positive effect. Means not followed by the same letter are significantly different (α = 0.05). *denotes means that are significantly different from neutral or mean of 3 (α = 0.05).

Logging business owner/forester survey

One hundred and eight logging business owners and foresters responded to the online survey. Categories of respondents included: forester/wood dealers (60%), followed by logging business owners (31%), and other (8%). Respondents in the “other” category were various forest industry representatives that did not fit into the given categories and included mill representatives, analysts, and site preparation contractors. Male respondents represented the majority at 98%, indicating a similar demographic as truck drivers. The average reported age was 54 years and ranged from 26–83 years.

Eighty-nine percent of owners/foresters either somewhat agreed (29%) or strongly agreed (60%) with the statement: “timber transportation is the most significant bottleneck within the wood supply chain.” Insurance and driver availability were perceived to pose the greatest challenge to timber transportation capacity, with mean responses of 4.70 and 4.59/5, respectively. Fuel prices and mill turn times followed, with means of 4.56 and 4.08/5, respectively. Mean responses to all variables exceeded neutral (3/5), indicating that each variable is important (Table 3).

Table 3. The most important variables that influence timber transportation capacity as indicated by owners/foresters.

Variable	Means
Insurance	4.70 a*
Driver Availability	4.59 a*
Fuel Prices	4.56 b*
Mill Turn Times	4.08 b*
Maintenance Costs	4.00 b*
Truck Parts Availability	3.89 b*
Age of Workforce	3.80 b*
Legal Weight Limit	3.71 b*
Safety Training	3.56 c*

N = 106. Rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1=large negative effect, 5=large positive effect. Means not followed by the same letter are significantly different (α = 0.05). *denotes means that are significantly different from neutral or mean of 3 (α = 0.05).

Forty-four percent of respondents stated that log truck insurance was the cost category that has created the most significant hardship for the transportation of forest products. This was followed by fuel (22%), driver wages and benefits (18%), other (13%), and truck and trailer expenses (4%).

When asked “what has proven effective in recruiting log truck drivers for your business,” the majority (58%) reported that word of mouth was most effective followed by other (10%), employment ads (9%), school outreach (7%), social media (7%), outside recruiting entities (5%), and career fairs (4%). A follow-up question asked owner/foresters to rate the effectiveness (1–5) of four strategies for attracting log truck drivers (Table 4). Response means for all strategies were significantly different from neutral indicating that each would have a positive effect. The strategies were ranked as follows: competitive wages (4.73/5), consistent work schedule (4.32/5), health insurance and benefits (4.13/5), and sign-on bonuses (3.73/5). Owner/foresters also indicated that distribution, long-haul, construction, agriculture, and port container transportation were the most prominent competing industries for hiring truck drivers.

Table 4. Owner/Forester rated variables on their effectiveness for attracting log truck drivers.

Variable	Means
Competitive Wages	4.73 a*
Consistent Work Schedule	4.32 b*
Health Insurance and Benefits	4.13 b*
Sign-on Bonuses	3.73 c*

N = 101. Rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1=large negative effect, 5=large positive effect. Means not followed by the same letter are significantly different (α = 0.05). *denotes means that are significantly different from neutral or mean of 3 (α = 0.05).

Log truck driver & owner/forester comparison

The mean log truck driver age was significantly younger than the mean owner/forester age (p = 0.0002). Both groups were asked to rate 12 variables on a scale of 1–5, based on the variable’s potential impact on timber transportation (Table 5). Both groups indicated that the three most important variables that would have a positive impact on timber transportation were increased haul rates, increased wages for drivers, and increased benefits for drivers. Owners/foresters and log truck drivers also agreed that standardized industry truck requirements and an increased female workforce would have a positive impact on timber transportation; however, these variables were rated the lowest of the twelve. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the way log truck drivers and owner/foresters responded, indicating general agreement between the groups.

Table 5. Comparison of log truck driver and owner/forester responses related to variables and their potential impact on timber transportation.

	Truck Driver (N = 171)		Owner/Forester (N = 105)
Variable	Mean	SD	Mean	SD
Increased haul rates	4.42 aA*	1.52	4.68 aA*	0.66
Increased wages for drivers	4.31 aA*	1.37	4.62 aA*	0.54
Increased benefits for drivers	4.27 aA*	1.33	4.31 bA*	0.69
Increased industry professionalism	4.09 aA*	1.02	3.82 cA*	0.69
Increased driver safety training	3.92 bA*	0.93	3.88 cA*	0.70
Increased weight limits	3.92 bA*	0.91	4.13 bA*	0.56
Start-up subsidies	3.80 bA*	0.68	3.67 cA*	0.86
Use of in-woods scales	3.76 bA*	0.67	3.70 cA*	0.79
Increased technology use	3.70 bA*	0.62	3.77 cA*	0.82
Increased contract hauling	3.66 bA*	0.63	3.93 cA*	0.90
Standardized industry truck requirements	3.50 cA*	0.55	3.52 cA*	1.00
Increased female workforce	3.39 cA*	0.61	3.55 cA*	0.72

Rated on a 5-point Likert scale: 1=large negative impact, 5=large positive impact. a,b,c=means not followed by the same letter within a column are significantly different (α = 0.05). A=truck driver and owner/forester means not followed by the same letter within a row are significantly different (α = 0.05). *denotes means within a column that are significantly different from neutral or mean of 3 (α = 0.05).

When asked what a fair annual truck driver salary in Georgia is, a plurality of both groups agreed on the $60,000–$79,000 range (Table 6). However, there were significant differences in the upper and lower salary ranges. Owner/foresters indicated smaller salaries were more desirable (p = 0.009), whereas the drivers indicated larger salaries were more desirable (p = 0.029).

Table 6. Comparison of truck driver versus owner/forester responses to fair annual salaries for a log truck driver in Georgia.

	Survey Response			Actual Driver
Salary Range (USD)	Truck Driver	Owner/Forester	P-values	Reported Salary
	N = 176	N = 104		N = 65
Less than $40,000	2%	1%	0.423	1.8%
$40,000–$59,000	24%	39%	0.009	26.2%
$60,000–$79,000	40%	49%	0.131	47.7%
$80,000–$99,000	18%	9%	0.029	9.2%
$100,000+	16%	2%	0.001	6.1%

Case studies

Common timber transportation obstacles reported by case study participants were, “driver shortages, insurance costs, inflation, public perception, and overall operational costs” (Table 7). Three logging and transportation businesses were selected for their innovative solutions and “best in class” practices. In Virginia, a logging business that owns 10 trucks has contended with transportation issues by increasing pay and incentives for drivers and by owning newer trucks (less than 10 years old). They indicated that having newer trucks led to a higher driver retention rate because drivers liked to drive them more and were happier. In South Carolina, an integrated wood supplier managed transportation issues by increasing the use of technology and real-time data usage. The company focused on adapting user-friendly software systems, emphasizing respect and empathy for employees, and creating an efficient dispatching system. In addition, they negotiate with mills for higher delivered prices by knowing exact transportation costs. In Georgia, a wood dealer hired two logistics managers to coordinate with JB Hunt personnel to ensure truck availability. JB Hunt is responsible for truck driver management and uses a mixed fee methodology consisting of a weekly payment along with a cost per mile and cost per truckload. The positive aspects of contracting with JB Hunt were reported to be: “reliable trucking capacity, reduced liability, and fewer operational problems;” however, negative aspects were “driver reliability and increased costs.” By switching to a centralized trucking management company, the wood dealer has been able to reach a larger area in Georgia and expand by adding two additional logging crews due to adequate trucking support and capacity. Finally, a case study was conducted with Forestry Works in Alabama, to investigate an online network to connect business owners with log truck drivers. Forestry Works is a collaborative, nonprofit effort of the Forest Workforce Training Institute and the Alabama Forestry Association. Their solution is an online platform that log truck drivers and business owners register for and are matched based on locality and skill. In addition, they promote log truck driving careers by creating professional recruiting videos, attending high school career fairs, and addressing public perception with their series of forest industry-based children’s books (Table 7).

Table 7. Results of case studies based on locality, business structure, innovative approach, obstacles, solutions, and outcomes.

State	Business Structure	Classification of Innovative Approach	Obstacles Addressed	Solutions	Outcomes
VA	Logging business with owned trucks	Benefit Focused	Truck maintenance Insurance Lack of qualified drivers Efficient dispatching	Operating newer trucks (<5–10 yrs. old) Pay raises and incentives for truck drivers Dedicated dispatch personnel Samsara technology solution	Increased dispatchingefficiency Averaging ~ three loads more/week/driver Increased productionwithout utilizing contract haulers
SC	Integrated wood supplier	Employee and Fleet Management	Transportation costs Employee retention Fleet management	Trucking cost breakdown analysis for negotiating power with mills Increased workplace professionalism Implementing user friendly and fleet tracking technology	Higher haul rates Better company culture Increased technology use Better fleet management
GA	Forestry consultant/wood dealer	Specialized Contract Hauling	Driver quality Driver retention Adequate training	JB Hunt special contracting JB Hunt employee management and training Dedicated dispatch personnel	Hired two additional logging crews due to trucking support Successful wood dealer in area of operation
AL	Workforce Institute (Non-profit)	Online Networking Platform	Driver shortage Public perception Operational costs	Online platform to match log truck drivers with business owners based on selected criteria Professional forest industry recruitment videos Logging themed children’s books	Positive feedback from business owners Improved publicperception

Notes: VA=Virginia, SC=South Carolina, GA=Georgia, AL=Alabama.

Discussion

Log truck driver survey

Ninety-nine percent of respondents to the truck driver survey were male, which clearly demonstrates demographic challenges facing forest products transportation and the difficulty recruiting new drivers. Responses seem to indicate that male truck drivers do not perceive that females are interested or available to drive leading them to score “increased female workforce” last of the variables associated with potential impacts on timber transportation (Table 5). However, the 3.39/5 and 3.55/5 scores from truck drivers and owner/foresters, respectively, were significantly different from neutral (3) indicating that both groups agree that increasing the female workforce would have a positive effect on timber transportation.

Half of respondents had been driving a log truck for 15 years or more, which agrees with previous studies that reported statistics regarding an aging workforce (e.g. Barrett et al. 2017; Conrad et al. 2018; He et al. 2021). However, there is evidence of an emerging group of new log truck drivers, as 24% indicated that they had been driving a log truck for less than 5 years. An anonymous owner/forester survey respondent commented, “it is very difficult to hire drivers when the insurance company requires 3 years of ‘Log Truck Driving’ experience, it does not matter how much experience they have if they have not hauled logs.”

Most respondents indicated that less than 25% of loads included a back haul, which agrees with Mendell et al. (2006), who found that log trucks normally accomplish 48.4% loaded miles, due to unloaded trips back to the harvesting site and trips to and from the worksite. Drivers reported their perceived average in-woods turn time of 16–30 minutes and an in-mill turn time of 31–45 minutes. This contrasts with Deckard et al. (2003), which studied efficient southeastern U.S. mills that had median turn times of 17–24 minutes and only 10% of trucks took an hour to unload. In addition, these findings also differ from Dowling (2010), who reported a median in-woods turn time of 84 minutes and in-mill turn time of 33.6 minutes in Virginia. However, 54% of drivers responded that in-mill turn time affected their productivity the most. This is also evident in Dowling (2010), who found log trucks were idle 27% of the time while in mill facilities.

The average annual log truck driver wage was $63,674; however, the minimum ($33,600) and maximum ($140,000) values indicate a large range in pay, partially due to variability in the number of hours worked. Assuming a 40-hour work week at 48 weeks yr⁻¹, this equates to a wage of $33.16 hr⁻¹. A 2021 simulation by Conrad assumed a wage of $30.60 hr⁻¹, which is $2.56 hr⁻¹ less than what was reported for this study, indicating likely wage increases due to inflationary factors. A study by Turoski et al. (2023) indicated that log truck driver wages have increased recently, but in the southeastern U.S., still lag that of general freight drivers by $2.84 hr⁻¹. This is highlighted in our results as truck drivers reported that income was the most attractive variable to becoming a log truck driver but at the same time indicated that lower wages was the second largest barrier preventing new truck drivers or those from other transportation industries from driving a log truck (Table 2). Drivers clearly believe that they are compensated fairly for their work but also recognize the ability to earn a higher wage in other trucking sectors. They also pointed to less or no benefits and a lack of driving experience as associated barriers. Barriers to recruiting new log truck drivers were identified by Conrad (2018) as work ethic, wages, drug tests, and experience. Potential employee recruitment solutions could be to improve driver image by creating a more professionally perceived position and by creating a classification system for drivers based on skill, experience, and training (Gallagher et al. 2004).

Owner/Forester survey

Over half of owners/foresters strongly agreed that timber transportation is currently the most significant bottleneck in the wood supply chain. One respondent stated, “We are in the worst crisis for finding log truck drivers that I have seen in my 38-year career in wood procurement. The perfect storm has been brewing for some time and the mills have not been listening until now, which I’m afraid is too late..”

Regarding timber transportation capacity, insurance, driver availability, and fuel costs posed the greatest threats, as also noted by previous research (Conrad 2018, 2023; Conrad et al. 2018). In the second quarter of 2022, Timber (2022) indicated that diesel fuel prices increased 77% from the previous quarter and 144% from one year earlier. Log truck owners perceive that recruiting log truck drivers is most effectively done in Georgia by word of mouth, as also stated by Conrad (2018). Owner/foresters also reported the use of contract haulers has decreased over the last 5 years; however, they do believe contract haulers decrease transportation hardships (Conrad 2023).

Log truck driver & owner/forester survey comparison

Both groups agreed that increased haul rates, increased wages for log truck drivers, and increased benefits for drivers have the potential to have a positive impact on timber transportation. However, while there were no significant differences in responses, truck drivers believe increased industry professionalism would have a greater positive impact, whereas owner/foresters believe professionalism is not as pressing of an issue. In addition, owners/foresters believe that increased weight limits would have a large positive impact whereas log truck drivers are not as certain (Conrad 2022; VanderSchaaf et al. 2023). Legislation recently passed in Georgia in 2023 (HB189), provides a gross vehicle weight increase from 38,102 kg (84,000 lbs) to 39,916 kg (88,000 lbs) (GFA 2023). There has been a trend of gross vehicle weight (GVW) limit increases across the southeastern U.S. This is evident from published GVWs in Reddish et al. (2011) averaging 38,425 kg (84,712 lbs) in southeastern states, to current GVW regulations published in Conrad (2021b) in most southern states of 38,102–41,730 kg (84,000–92,000 lbs). Owners/foresters and log truck drivers also agreed that standardized industry truck requirements and an increased female workforce would have a positive impact on transportation. However, only 1.06% of respondents in both surveys were female. Both parties believe the transportation variables listed could have positive potential impacts to timber transportation, as all means were above three (Table 5).

The majority of log truck drivers and owner/foresters indicated that a fair log truck driver annual salary in Georgia should be $60,000–$79,000; however, there were significant differences found in the other salary ranges. Correspondingly, 47.7% of drivers that provided their actual salary indicated that their pay was within this range. Further, owner/foresters favored the smaller annual salary ranges, specifically the $40,000–$59,000 range; whereas, log truck drivers favored the upper salary ranges, specifically ranging from $80,000 to $100,000 or more annually. Owners and foresters believe that competitive wages and a consistent work schedule were the most effective strategies for attracting log truck drivers. However, lesser or no benefits offered was the top barrier to becoming a log truck driver in the log truck driver survey. Another owner/forester comment stated, “Quality, reliable drivers are very difficult to come by, offering benefits and above market pay will draw drivers in from other industries.”

Study limitations

The true response rate of the owner/forester survey is unknown due to electronic survey distribution. Also, the log truck driver survey data only represents the geographic area in which drivers were surveyed. Our surveys measured respondents’ perceptions and opinions but did not measure underlying variables directly. As such, additional research is needed to understand how these perceptions and opinions may or may not reflect specific aspects of forest transportation. For example, as recruiting evolves and wage rates change, there is an opportunity to measure direct impacts on the workforce.

Conclusions

This study identified important factors that influence the effectiveness of timber transportation. While the study was intended to identify disconnections and inefficiencies between owners/foresters and log truck drivers, agreements were also found. Less than 1% of log truck drivers are women, which presents a large demographic barrier. While over half of the sample of drivers had 15 years or more of experience, there is an emerging subset of less experienced log truck drivers entering the profession. Attractive job factors were noted as income, ability to be home at night and maintain work life balance, and flexible work hours. However, barriers to other truck drivers becoming a log truck driver include less or no benefits offered, low wages compared to other transportation industries, and inexperience. Log truck drivers also believed the most important factors impacting the productivity of forest transportation are mill and in-woods turn times. Noted transportation obstacles from the owner/forester perspective of concern are insurance, driver availability, fuel prices, and mill turn times. Owners/foresters have found that competitive wages, consistent work schedule, and offering health insurance and benefits are the most effective measures to attract log truck drivers.

The transportation link of the southern wood supply chain is very complex with few straightforward solutions. There are many factors that impact transportation efficiency. Best practices identified from the case studies could be adopted by other businesses to improve transportation bottlenecks. Increasing industry professionalism, becoming more attractive to the public, and appealing to a younger generation of workers could improve driver recruitment, for example. Future research should investigate other southeastern U.S. states to evaluate inefficiencies and challenges in forest transportation to develop more comprehensive solutions for the industry.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Harley Langdale Jr. Center for Forest Business, University of Georgia.