Spatial Patterns of Round Wood Transport Associated with Mobile Data Systems in Sweden
Authors
Manuela Roscher
Dresden University of Technology
Dag Fjeld
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Thomas Parklund
VSV Frakt AB
Abstract
The use of mobile data systems (MDS) in round wood transport is increasing. The most common functions for MDS include: distribution of transport plans and orders, navigation to the forest site (GPS, GIS) and reporting of transport volumes. This paper examines the transport patterns for trucks with and without the support of MDS in central Sweden. The variables are based on data from 13 trucks with MDS and 13 without MDS. All trucks were operating within the same planning organization however the selection of trucks to be equipped with MDS support was done independent of this study. Data was collected using a random sample of 5 days per month over one year of operations.
While the number of operating days per month was similar for the two groups, other differences were observed. The daily number of separate forest destinations was 4.13 for trucks with MDS and 3.70 for those without. The daily number of separate mill destinations visited was 2.66 for trucks with MDS and 2.17 for those without. The size of the total annual operating area was 29,050 km2 for those with MDS and 18,656 km2 for those without. The main operating area constituted 35.3 % and 28.2 % of the total annual operating areas for trucks with and without MDS, respectively.
