Proper measurements are extremely significant for the forest owner, the harvesting company, the hauler, the final buyer, and the wood processing company. The accuracy of round wood volume determination is of fundamental importance in planning and accounting for individual processes related to the wood trade. It is the basis for determining the maximum quantity in single load of wood that allows for using the permissible total gross vehicle weight. The determination of wood load in cubic meters does not allow unequivocally determining its weight, which often leads to overloading of vehicles. This paper presents a comparison of the photo-optical method for determining the volume of wood to be transported with the real measurement and determination of the weight of a load and the total gross vehicle weight (GVW) with the simultaneous application of conversion factors determining the weight of the load from the volume of wood. The measurement included 23 broadleaf round wood piles (193.73 m³) and 14 coniferous round wood piles (149.23 m³). The measurement error for broadleaf wood piles ranges from −47.67% to 63.16%, and from −43.31% to 24.72% for coniferous wood piles. Determination of the volume of a broadleaf wood pile using the iFOVEA method had an average error of 1.34%, while the Timbeter method had an average error of −1.83%. In the coniferous wood pile measurement, the error is −12.82% and 2.41%, respectively. Verification of the volume of the large-sized wood indicated on the delivery note (reference value) on the log sorting line (by laser scanning) showed larger volumes by 0.10 m³ to 2.54 m³, giving a percentage error of 0.35% and 8.62%, respectively. As a consequence of the application of such methods for determining the weight of wood loads, the transport truck sets are often significantly overloaded, which has a significant impact on the accelerated degradation of roads and safety in traffic and timber transportation.

Transport of wood biomass is one of the key operations in forestry and in the wood industry. An important part is the transport of shredded wood, where the most common forms are chips and sawdust. The aim of the research was to present the variability of the total weight of trucks (gross vehicle weight, GVW), the weight of the empty trucks (tare), and loads of chips and sawdust in different periods of the year. Changes in specific parameters were analyzed: GVW; tare weight; trailer capacity; use of the trailer load capacity; bulk volume and bulk density of wood biomass loads; solid cubic meter (m³) and weight of 1m³ of the load; and load weight depending on the season, with simultaneous measurements of wood chips and sawdust moisture. More than 250 transports from four seasons of the year were analyzed in the research. It was found that the total weight of trucks (GVW) was at a comparable level, on average from 39.42 to 39.64 Mg with slight differences (with SD 0.29 and 0.39). The weight of empty trucks was 16.15 Mg for chip-bearing trucks and 15.93 Mg for sawdust-bearing trucks (with SD 0.604 and 0.526). The type of wood material has an influence on the transported volume. The average quantity of load in the bulk cubic meter was 64.783 m³ for wood chips (SD 3.127) and 70.465 m³ (SD 2.516) for sawdust. Over 30% differences in the volume of transported wood chips and approximately 18% for sawdust were observed. The use of the loading capacity of the trailer was on average 72.58% (SD 5.567) for the transport of wood chips and 77.42% (SD 3.019) for the transport of sawdust. The sawdust bulk density was from 0.3050 to 0.4265 Mg⋅m⁻³ for wood chips and 0.3200 to 0.3556 Mg⋅m⁻³ for sawdust. This parameter is significantly dependent on moisture content, and the determined correlation functions can be used for estimating and predicting bulk density. The abovementioned absolute moisture content of chips and sawdust also depends on the season, which also affects the selected parameters of wood biomass loads.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most important forest tree species in Europe, and its wood is a main raw material in the wood industry of many countries of the region. The high variability of pine wood density in connection with its moisture content is a challenge in transport operations. An important part of the roundwood transport of pine wood by trucks is the transport of large-size roundwood (sawlogs). As part of the research, an analysis was carried out of the influence of absolute wood moisture content, determined in various ways, on selected truck transport parameters of large-size pine wood. The analyses of the supply of wood to a large sawmill in northern Poland took into account different seasons. The results indicate that the average moisture content of the transported pine wood is at a level of approximately 95% (determined by dry weight) and the density at 0.878 Mg m⁻³ (determined using the stereometric method). Quick measurement with the use of a resistance hygrometer gives significantly lower results both on the side surface and on the cross-cut end of the log. Regardless of the method of measurement, the absolute moisture content of wood in loads depends on the date of delivery (season), which is reflected in the variability of the density and weight of the loads. The indicated strong correlations between the selected, tested characteristics of roundwood transports are important for forestry practice too. It is the possibility of using the methods of quick determination of fresh wood moisture to estimate the density of wood and to predict and determine the mass of the load.

This study analyzed the variability of truckloads of large-sized pine logs transported to a furniture manufacturing mill, depending on the origin of the timber, delivery period, length of the transported logs, volume of the load and its mass. It was assumed that the volume and mass of the transported timber load depends on the season of the year and the origin of the timber, which has a significant impact on the mass of one cubic meter of the load. The analysis of the wood origin parameters (location of its growth) took into account the type of forest habitat, soil type and stand abundance. The characteristics of the tree parameters from which the roundwood was obtained took into account age, diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of the stand. The origin of the timber was determined for 1063 timber loads from 40 forest districts transported over a 12 month period. We obtained an average timber load volume of 29.34 m³ which includes single shipments differing significantly in their volume of between 24.21 and 36.51 m³. The origin of the timber, habitat conditions and stand parameters of the harvesting site influence load mass and the mass of 1 m³ of load. The delivery date has an impact on the studied elements of the sawlogs load, with two similar periods—spring and summer. The volume of the transported timber is already at a stabilized level in accordance with legal regulations, which is no longer dependent on other factors and only on the accepted conversion factors for roundwood density and the mass of the empty vehicle set. This has not influenced a reduction in the mass of the transported timber.

The aim of the presented research is to characterize the scale of transport work performed on the supply of large-size pine wood to the sawmill, with indication of factors influencing structure and parameters. Analyzes were carried out for deliveries to a sawmill in northern Poland, which supplies pine sawlogs and long wood assortments. The distance of deliveries on public and forest roads was determined, as well as transport work for each type of road and the total value. The transport work was defined as a multiplication of driven kilometers with the load and the weight of the load in ton kilometers. Data on the transport distance were obtained on the basis of information from the driver, and the parameters of the transported pine sawlogs from the delivery note. Based on the collected data over a period of 12 months, the transport work was determined for selected courses. The total transport work for the 1509 analyzed deliveries was 3,447,486 ton-kilometers (tkm). The average transport work for one course amounted to 2286 tkm and was characterized by a high variability SD = 1207. The minimum value of the transport work was recorded at the level of 83 tkm, and the maximum as much as 7803 tkm. The median of the analyzed deliveries was 2220 tkm, while the first quartile Q1 = 1358, and the third quartile Q3 = 2997. With very similar cargo volumes (m³) and cargo weight (kg) the transport distance and the total number of deliveries have a significant effect on the transport work performed with the transport of timber. Purchase of wood in seven forest districts located up to 50 km from the sawmill accounts for 30.1% of the analyzed deliveries (1509), resulting in only transport work at the level of 476,104 tkm, which is only 13.8% of the total transport work of all deliveries.

The variety of wood loads and their parameters (humidity, density, assortment) are often the cause of the increased total weight of the vehicle (GVW). With significant GVW exceeding, forest roads are exposed to high-tonnage vehicles, which results in vehicle axle loads above the accepted design parameters for the pavement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the real axle loads of round wood transport vehicles arising from the gross vehicle weight (GVW) of the transport set in different seasons of the year and depending on the type of transport set and the type of wood assortments. Measurements of axle loads for round wood truck transport sets were carried out on the sites of three large wood industry companies from the north of Poland, which process different types of wood. The load on the individual axles of the high tonnage truck units was measured using model DINI ARGEO WWSD portable truck scales with a 3590M309 weighing terminal with 0.01 t graduation. In total, measurements were taken for 904 round wood deliveries made by different transport sets: a truck and trailer set with 473 deliveries, including 344 deliveries by six-axle sets, a truck, and semi-trailer with 334 deliveries, where 193 were made by six-axle sets. The lowest axle load for all the sets occurred on axle one in the range of average values 7.07–7.86 t with a spread of results from 4.49 to 10.20 t. The highest average axle loads of 9.15–12.43 t was found on the axle for all the observed transport sets, where a maximum value of 14.52 t was also found. There were statistically significant differences in the values of the loads on individual axles depending on the type of truck set and type of wood assortment. Comparative analysis by the Kruskal–Wallis test of all axle load results depending on the vehicle types and number of axles, showed statistically significant differences. When analyzing the axle loads in five-axle sets with respect to the delivery date, statistically significant differences were found for all the axles. These differences occurred mainly for measurements performed in the summer and other seasons, the most visible of which were on the second and third axle. The loads of transported wood (assortments) also influenced the resulting axle loads, which was confirmed by statistical analysis. For most axles, there are differences in the axle loads for sets with MS (medium-size, industrial wood) deliveries and other assortments. Additionally, on axles 4–5, there are differences between Ls (large-size) deliveries and other deliveries (multiple mean rank test). In the case of TS transport sets, there is no big difference between the axle loads, only in the case of short assortment Ms where the second and third axles have higher average axle loads of just over 10 t. In the truck and trailer combinations (TT), the highest average axle loads are on the fourth and fifth axle in the range 8.5–12.0 t, with lower values for shorter 3.7 m and Ms grades. The distribution of the total gross vehicle weight of the set is, on average, 58–60% to the truck (three axles) and 40–42% to the trailer/semi-trailer (two axles) in five-axle sets and in six-axle sets, the truck and trailer/semi-trailer (three axles).