Six key elements to reduce
forest transportation cost
Jean
Jean Favreau,
Favreau, FERIC
FERIC
Six key elements
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
$
Costs
Time
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Why the Canadian industry has
to reduce transportation cost?
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Forest transportation in Canada
O
Forest transportation with trucks
–
–
–
O
O
O
O
O
90 % of fiber
50 % of lumber
35 % of pulp and paper
Forest transportation is 25 % of the heavy haul industry
12 500 forest trucks
37 billions tons-km per year
1 billion liters of fuel per year
300 000 tires per year
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
1. Transportation is the biggest
cost item in the wood cost
O
O
O
O
Average delivered wood cost ≈ C$ 60/m³ and ≈ ½ of final product cost
Transportation is more than 30% of the wood cost
Transportation is the most variable cost item
Trend is to balance hauling cost year after year
35%
30%
25%
20%
St umpage
Harvest ing
Transport at ion
15%
10%
5%
0%
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Silvicult ure
Administ rat ion
2. Highest portion of total
energy required to supply mills
O
O
O
Transportation is more
than 50% of energy
required to supply mills
Fuel cost is increasing
Environmental concerns
liters of fuel / m³
0.12
2.27
2.85
Harvesting
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Transport
Silviculture
3. Transportation management
O
O
O
O
O
Increasing complexity with
various products to transport
to many mills
Trucks are empty more than
50% of trip time
Management done by small
independent contractors
Lack of communication and
coordination between
dispatchers
Most important link in the
wood supply chain
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
4. The Canadian forest industry
O
O
O
O
O
Shortage of young people
Growing global fiber supply
High eastern Canadian wood costs
High value of Canadian dollars
Forest transportation has to be
restructured as the forest industry
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
Road transportation
performance
O
O
Defined primarily by loading
equipment, on and off-highway
trucks and unloading equipment
Drivers (resistance to change)
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Truck transportation cost
$/ton = Hours/trip * $/hour
payload (tons)
Hours/trip depends on
$/hour depends on
Payload depends on
distance and type of road
equipment and
tare weight, regulations
fuel consumption
and fiber properties
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Truck specifications
O
O
O
Truck specs tailored to operations
(engine, trailer)
Lightweight logging trailer to increase
payload
Adoption of new onboard technologies
to improve performance (computers,
Central Tire Inflation (CTI) system)
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Awareness of fuel consumption
O
O
O
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Driving habits = 35% of
variance in fuel consumption
Engine specs adapted to local
conditions
Training and benchmarking
(onboard computers)
Weight and fuel consumption
L/100km = A + B * Vehicle weight (tons)
Consumption (L/100km)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
10
20
40
30
50
60
Weight (tons)
Paved
Primary
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Secondary
Tertiairy
70
80
Example of fuel consumption
Total weight (tons)
Liters/100 km
Liters/tons
On-highway
57
69.3
4.43
Saving
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Off-highway
150
146.9
3.36
-24%
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
Transport cost breakdown (%)
O
O
Road construction and maintenance ≈ 30 % of the transport cost
Better roads reduce trucking cost
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Trucking
Road construction
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Road maintenance
Road design
O
O
O
O
O
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Extend the haul season
Reduce road construction cost
Improve truck cycle time
Build insufficient capacity
creates performance and
rehabilitation problems
Optimize layer thickness and
aggregate selection
Road network
O
O
O
Access to the public
Canadian forest
First strategic choice
Road classes in
function of volume
transported
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Specs per type of road
Type of road
1
2
3
Speed (km/hr)
70
50
30
Life (years)
15
5
0.3
120
60
12
Cost (K$/km)
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
PlaniRoute
O
O
Software to minimize total cost of
skidding and tertiary roads
Tradeoff between road density
and skidding distance
Type of skidding, harvesting
systems, terrain and harvesting
conditions, stream crossings and
road cost are taken into account
in the model
Clambunk
Grapple
Forw arder
$16
$14
Total cost ($/m³)
O
$12
$10
$8
$6
$4
$2
$0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Skidding distance (m )
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
CTI-based road design
O
O
CTI reduces the impact of vehicles on roads
Potential to reduce gravel thickness by more than 25%
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Otto to simulate road/haul
system
O
O
For a given road system, Otto
can better plan your haul
system
For a given vehicle, Otto can
explore how changes in the
characteristics of an existing or
proposed road affect haul costs
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
Multimodal transportation
O
O
O
O
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Roundwood is almost never
transported by train or barge
Develop agile transportation system
with trucks, barges and trains to
reduce costs and improve fiber flow
Implement new technology to
improve handling of materials
Need for a multi-modal decisionsupport model (location of sidings
and ports, connection between
transport modes)
Truck-rail – Example 1
O
O
O
250 000 m³/yr
Reduction of 100 truck
trips/week
Cost reduction 7 to 14% :
•Road maintenance and no spring
load restriction
•Overall fuel consumption
•Off-highway trucks to siding
•Continuous wood flow and lower
inventory at the mill
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Truck-rail – Example 2
O
O
O
500 000 m³/yr and reduced
CO² by 5 100 t/yr
Reduction in road
maintenance cost and no
spring load restrictions
Better cost of inventory
•15$/m³ in satellite yards vs
35$/m³ in mill yard
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Barge-truck – Example 3
O
O
O
O
375 000 gmt/yr
Reduction of 18 000 truck trips/yr
Reduction of 9 000 t of CO²/yr
Up to 30% savings in transport
cost
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
Satellite yards advantages
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Handling (loading, unloading, reloading) increases but …
Better average payload between SY and mills
Reduction of harvesting and transformation costs
Better fiber recovery
Backhauling opportunities
Better fiber flow
Low inventory costs
Biomass production
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Interface-Map – Decision support software
O
O
Assess supply costs directly on a
forestry map with or without
satellite yards
Interface-Map is helpful to select
the best SY scenarios
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Satellite yards – Example 1
6
13
11
Armstrong
9
14
Savant Lake
12
Sioux Lookout
Gull Bay
*
#
19
161
40
18
41
38
162
39
37
26
*
#
23
Nipigon
42
25
46
15
Atikokan
17
16
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
*#
*
#
Thunder Bay
D
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
No backhauling - 3 trucks
Mill A
Mill B
Mill C
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Loaded
Truck 1
Truck 2
Truck 3
Empty
Backhauling - 1 truck
Mill A
Mill B
Mill C
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Truck 1
Loaded
Empty
Backhauling needs
O
O
Better fleet management
More multi-use trailers
(potential savings of $5
millions/yr roundwoodchips in Quebec)
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Backhauling – Study case 1
O
O
O
Bromptonville – T.R. with pulp load
T.R. – St-Sévérin with empty truck
St-Sévérin – Bromptonville with chips load
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Results - Study case 1
Truck
Rate ($/ton) Liters/ton
Pulp
12.54
4.91
Chips
15.66
6.64
Total
14.11
Multi-use
10.96
4.48
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Saving
22%
module
O
O
O
Optimization tool in Interface-Map
Identification from a monthly to weekly basis of the
backhauling opportunities
Production of sensitivity analysis
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Sensitivity analysis – Study case 2
1. Price of fuel : 0.75$/L → 1$/L
$ 2.1 million
O
$ 2.3 million
2. Lighter multi-use trailer: 22t → 20t
$ 2.1 million
O
$ 2.6 million
3. Handling / waiting time : 1.75h → 1h
$ 9.7 million
$ 2.1 million
O
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Road transportation performance
Road network design
Multimodal transportation
Transfer and satellite yards
Backhauling
Truck scheduling
Better scheduling
Loading in forest
O
O
O
O
Minimize global waiting time (loaders
plus trucks) during a given period
Satisfy demand for each product in
order to supply each mill
Respect supply by product in each
forest site
Determine number of trucks to assign
during the given period
…
…
Unloading at mill
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
VTM - Virtual Transportation Manager
O
O
O
O
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Optimization of transportation
logistics on a regional basis
using Web-based technologies
Integration of different
databases : transport demand
(volumes, products), transport
supply (trucks-trailers) and
clients (mills, periods)
Partnership FERIC-For@c
VTM actually tested
VTM components
Planning
Business process
(Dispatching)
Products
Sites
Assignment
Transport capacity
Transport needs
Importation
Routes Management
Optimization - Cost
Routes creation
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
VTM access
O
O
Secured access
on Internet
Each member
have only access
to his own data
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Volume
localization
O
O
See volume per
product or
destination directly
on map
Show detailed
information on each
volume
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Route
planning
O
O
To reduce fuel
consumption
and waiting time
Show detailed
information
about products,
trailers, regional
capacities,
hauling periods
and delivered
dates
Payload:
Fuel Cost:
4
5
6
3
Driving Time:
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
VTM advantages
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
O
Manage transportation capacities and needs
Facilitate accounting
Control fiber freshness
Reduce GHE, fuel consumption and transportation costs
Avoid wrong destinations
Increase revenue per truck and backhauling
Improve communications
Reduce waiting time
Favor multimodal transportation
Implement a solution for supply chain management
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Partnership in transportation
O
Other industries
O
In Sweden, roundwood transportation
O
In Southern US, roundwood transportation
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Conclusion
O
O
O
O
O
Resistance to change is very strong in forest transportation
Transportation is a key factor to reduce supply cost
Transportation is the easiest way to link the wood chain to
the entire supply chain
Decision support software are needed for better planning
Tracking tools are essential to achieve « precision forestry »
FERIC – Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
Thank you !
Questions ?
Jean
Jean Favreau
Favreau
jean
-f@mtl.feric.ca
jean-f@mtl.feric.ca
(514)
-4631 ext
(514) 694
694-4631
ext.. 353
353