Vol. 11 No. 2 July 2000

DELIVERY

The Transportation of Raw Natural
Resource Product from Roadside to Mill

by Robert A. Douglas

The author states in the beginning of the book "It is high time attention was paid to forest truck and road transportation systems." He then proceeds, in a three part book of eleven well composed chapters, to present a wealth of information, much of it drawn from sources outside the forest industry, that he hopes will be utilized by the industry to improve the delivery of forest products, from roadside to mill.

Part 1 (chapters 1 to 3) entitled "Background", emphasizes the importance of transportation to the forest industry; defines terms; traces the evolution of delivery systems from the horse-powered and river drive days to truck transport; describes the uniqueness of forest roads compared to public roads, and discusses how government regulations, both economic and technical, apply to forest road transport.

Part 2 (chapters 4 to 8) entitled "Routes", deals with the complete engineering sequence of road development from the earliest reconnaissance, through location surveys, road classification, geometric design, contracts, construction supervision, earthwork volume calculations, to management of the completed road system, including a description of various methods used to determine when an existing road is due for major maintenance of reconstruction.

The author attaches particular importance to the early stages of road location. "With so many competing requirements, and with so much riding on the outcome, road location is not a job to be left to amateurs. Extra money spent in determining "the best route" will be saved many times over in construction costs. Avoid hasty decisions.

Part 3 (chapters 9 to 11) entitled "Vehicles", deals with vehicle characteristics, vehicle performance predictions, network and scheduling.

The author stresses repeatedly that the road and the vehicle should be dealt with as two components of one system. They should be matched. This might be easier in forest roads than in public roads because, whereas public roads have to carry a very wide range of vehicle types, forest roads are designed to carry only two types -- light cars or pickup trucks and very heavy haul trucks, for which characteristics are known.

The writing style of the book is easy to read and the format is attractive. The book is well referenced and there is an extensive index. The author has also included in his book tributes to three men prominent in the field of forest transportation -- Louis Seheult, Ross Silversides and Tom Bjerkelund. All in all the book should be very useful to people concerned with the delivery of raw materials.

Harold W. McFarlane
Professor Emeritus, Civil Engineering
University of New Brunswick