October 2019

From The Forestry Source, August 2019. © 2019, The Society of American Foresters   Timber Industry Faces Shortage of Log Truckers   By Steve Wilent The first item listed in the Forest Resources Association’s June 27 Southcentral and Southeastern Regions Activity Report was startling: “It is estimated that the truck driver shortage is resulting in a 10% to 15% loss of logging production currently. Multiple industries compete for drivers, and good, reliable trucking is very expensive.” Rick Meyer, Appalachian and southwide regions manager for the association, said that the production- loss figures are anecdotal, but very real. “I would say that just about every logging or trucking contractor that I’ve talked with who has, say, five trucks or more, has had at least one of those trucks idled at one time or another over the past year due to the driver shortage,” Meyer said. “For the majority of our members all across the country, trucking challenges are their number one issue by far, both from the logging end and probably from the mill as well.” The shortage of drivers in the US is affecting all industries that rely on trucking. A March 2, 2019, article in Fortune, “America’s Trucker Shortage Is About to Hit Consumers Where It Hurts,” notes that US companies “are sounding the alarm that higher freight fees could be passed on to consumers of everything from Crest toothpaste to Arm & Hammer cat litter to My Little Pony figurines. And it’s all because transport companies can’t find drivers.” In the forest-products industry,…

OCTOBER 22-26, 2019 IS IDAHO FOREST PRODUCTS WEEK IDAHO – (October 11, 2019) Governor Brad Little has formally proclaimed the week of October 22-26, 2019 to be Idaho Forest Products Week. “The Idaho Forest Products Industry plays an essential part of the state’s history, culture, environment and economy,” said Governor Little. “It also plays an essential role as a fundamental industry to the State of Idaho, providing for the production of wood and paper products from Idaho forests.” Idaho has 21.5 million acres of forest land spanning from the Canadian border to the southern edge of the state. Over 40% of Idaho is covered in trees. Idaho’s forest sector is one of Idaho’s leading trade sectors, contributing more than $2 billion to the state’s gross and state product, providing 30,000 jobs, and generating more than $3 billion in sales and $25 million in tax revenue. “Sustainable forest management under the Idaho Forest Practices Act provides countless benefits, including clean air and water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, scenic beauty, local renewable energy, forest products used by Idahoans every day, and employment and tax revenue for local communities, counties and the state of Idaho,” said Little. Wood is widely recognized as renewable, recyclable, durable, versatile and energy efficient green building materials. Products from sustainably managed forests play a critical role in combating climate change due to natural process of photosynthesis where trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, release oxygen into the atmosphere and capture carbon, which is stored in wood products for the life of…