Story by David Knight,
Co-Publisher/Executive Editor

I don’t read newspapers much anymore, but a few weeks ago a front page article in the Montgomery Advertiser caught my eye. The article addressed log truck traffic in downtown Montgomery, Ala., which happens to be the location of Hatton-Brown Publishers, parent company of this magazine. In asking whether log truck traffic seems to be increasing downtown, the writer got mixed reactions from locals who work there, and from Alabama Loggers Council leader Ray Clifton, who said he doubted such traffic was increasing. Regardless of where they happen to be, today’s log truck drivers, overall, are safety conscious and responsible, Clifton pointed out.

A few days before this article appeared I was headed to Hatton-Brown’s offices, situated near where I-65 crosses the Alabama River. My morning commute places me on Alabama 152, otherwise known as the Northern Boulevard, which merges with I-65 south at the Alabama River bridge. I take the first exit to downtown. Distance between the access and exit ramps here is a quarter mile at most. This exit serves the state government hub and the main gate of Maxwell Air Force Base. It’s quite congested between 7 and 8 a.m. and few big trucks of any type take this exit.

That’s why I was surprised to see a log truck do so. Loaded with treelengths, it threaded its way off the interstate, then over it, turned left, went two blocks, turned left again and mingled with air force base traffic for a mile before it reached U.S. 31. Its ultimate destination was probably International Paper’s linerboard mill at Prattville. Even though the rig appeared to be heavier than 80,000 lbs., the legal weight for interstates, the driver obviously felt the short jaunt on the super highway, and dealing with the hour’s traffic congestion, was worth the risk.

It’s a paradox that loggers and/or log truckers contend with every day. Log truck drivers in most states cannot legally access interstates—the best constructed highways in the nation and among the best in the world—if their loaded rigs exceed the 40 ton limit, even though a majority of state transportation departments allow heavier weights on more inferior state and secondary roads.

Legalizing heavier loads on interstates would help eliminate congestive bottlenecks, enhance safety, improve trucking efficiency and make U.S. pulp, paper and forest products manufacturers more competitive globally. But the road to reform is a narrow, winding, obstacle-filled path, as Jennifer McCary reports in her article beginning on page 8. Check it out.

In a late 2006 Timberlines piece titled 80,000 Pound Trucking Gorilla, I wrote this: “The reality is that higher weights probably will not receive a legislative blessing any time soon.” A little more headway has been achieved since then but a bill authorizing heavier weight is still a long shot. Heck, Congress can’t even pass a budget, settling on a string of “continuing resolutions” to fund the federal juggernaut. Given the deteriorating condition of many interstates, perhaps Congress should forget heavier truck weights and focus on passing and fully funding a highway bill.

If heavier loads are eventually given federal blessing, one has to wonder if loggers and log truckers would benefit beyond a reduction in risk exposure. Would more local governments come down harder on weight limits for roads and bridges they control, adding bond requirements or some other regulation? Would mills simply view incoming heavier loads as an opportunity to reduce freight rates? Would anything be achieved by hauling more cargo if unloading continues to take hours instead of minutes?

The first step toward solving a problem is recognizing that one exists. The procurement people at Enviva LP, which is coming on strong in the realm of pellets and chips, are concerned about logging capacity in northeastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia. They are considering various options designed to undergird existing logging operations and encourage the creation of additional logging capacity.

Enviva representatives have met with leaders of the North Carolina Assn. of Professional Loggers and the Virginia Loggers Assn. to get their input and are moving forward. Committed to quick truck turn time, Enviva says it wants to embrace an atmosphere of openness and trust and seeks a partnership type of relationship with loggers. It says it wants loggers to be profitable. Among other things, it is said to be considering offering long-term logging contracts with cost escalation provisions, bulk fuel purchases and perhaps other incentives.

The company has reason to be concerned. Within the next 18 months it will require about 900 loads of logs and chips per day—yes, 900 per day, 80% hardwood—to meet its offshore wood pellet and domestic wood fiber supply commitments. Putting this in historical perspective, a local logger reports the paper mill IP shut down in Franklin, Va. two years ago required about 300 loads a day. That mill will soon come back on line but will have a greatly reduced raw material appetite as it produces fluff pulp from softwood. Enviva will need to muster all the creativity it can, considering that logging capacity in the area contracted significantly with the IP mill closure. Some loggers retired, others downsized and the labor involved took to the front porch or moved to another line of work. Enviva is acting wisely and is to be commended for its forward thinking.