:la+=-$ United States 

Deqartment of 

Agr~culture Costs, Yields, and Revenues 

Forest Service Associated with Thinning 

Northeastern Forest and Clearcutting 60-year-old Experiment Station 

Research Paper 

Cherry-Maple Stands 

NE-582 

I986 Gary W. Miller 

Raymond L. Sarles 
Abstract 

Logging costs, product yields, and harvest revenues were determined for three 

thinning treatments (75, 60, and 45 percent residual stocking) and clearcutting in 

60-year-old cherry-maple stands. The study area was logged by a three-man crew 

using chain saws and a wheeled skidder. Time study and yield data indicated 

that production rates and costs were similar among the four treatments. Production 

rates ranged from 18.5 to 19.3 cunits per day, depending on the treatment. Total 

logging costs, including felling, bucking, skidding, loading, hauling, and roads, 

ranged from $44 to $35 per cunit, decreasing as the cut increased. Sawlog yields 

ranged from 1,621 to 13,281 board feet per acre (International 1/4-inch rule), while 

pulpwood yields ranged from 630 to 1,897 cubic feet per acre. Harvest revenues 

were sufficient to pay for roads and timber sale costs in all treatments except the 

lightest thinning treatment. 

The Authors 

Gary W. Miller is an economist for the timber management project at the Timber and Watershed Laboratory, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Parsons, 

West Virginia. 

Raymond L. Sarles is a research forest products technologist at the Forestry 

Sciences Laboratory, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Princeton, West 

Virginia. 
Introduction 

Stocking guides can be used to prescribe thinning treatments in immature hardwood stands. They provide general 

guidelines on residual stand density based on growingspace requirements of individual trees. Preliminary growth 

information indicates that field tests are needed to evaluate 

and refine current recommendations on stocking control 

(Leak 1981). Also, information on costs and revenues associated with thinning operations is needed to develop economic guidelines for managing even-aged hardwood stands. 

This information will help forest managers determine practical thinning schedules based on volume growth and value 

factors in individual stands. 

Scientists at the Timber and Watershed Laboratory in Parsons, West Virginia, installed a thinning study in cherrymaple stands on the Monongahela National Forest to test 

the Allegheny hardwoods stocking guide (Roach 1977). Cost 

and yield data were collected during the harvesting operations. This paper reports logging costs, yield of merchantable products, and revenues associated with three thinning 

treatments and clearcutting. 

Study Area and Methods 

Treated stands were previously unmanaged, about 60 years 

old. The overstory was primarily black cherry and red maple 

with some patches of white ash. The understory was made 

up of American beech, red maple, and sugar maple. Rainfall 

in the area averages 55 to 60 inches per year, and site 

index for black cherry is 75 feet. Slopes are generally less 

than 10 percent. The area is representative of about 

125,000 acres of commercial forests in central West Virginia 

and resembles the Allegheny hardwood forests of northwestern Pennsylvania. 

According to the stocking chart (Roach 1977), the study 

area was 113 percent stocked before thinning. Based on a 

complete inventory of all trees 1.0 inch in d.b.h. and larger 

on nineteen %-acre plots, the average basal area was 169 

ft2 per acre. Sixty-nine percent of the basal area was in 

the cherry, ash, and yellow-poplar species group. Basal area 

in saplings (1 .O to 5.5 inches d.b.h.) averaged 25 ft2 per 

acre. The area averaged 852 trees per acre with an average 

stand diameter of 6.0 inches. In merchantable trees (7.0 

inches d.b.h. and larger), the stand averaged 224 trees per 

acre with an average d.b.h, of 10.2 inches. Pretreatment 

sawtimber volume averaged 11,400 board feet per acre 

(International %inch rule); total merchantable volume averaged 4,350 ft3 per acre (Table 1). 

Four cutting treatments were studied: 75, 60, 45, and 0 

percent residual stand stocking. Fourteen 2-acre plots, four 

in each thinning treatment and two in the clearcut treatment, 

were included in the cost study. In each plot, trees were 

marked for removal to achieve the desired residual stocking 

(Fig. 1). Residual stand stocking in the thinning treatments 

was measured with the stocking guide for Allegheny hardwoods (Roach 1977). In the clearcut treatment, all stems 1.0 

inch d.b.h. and larger were cut (Table 1). 

Figure 1 .-A 60-year-old cherry-maple stand thinned to 45 percent residual stocking. 

1 
Table 1 .-Characteristics for four cutting treatments in 60-year-old cherry-maple stands 

Residual No. stems per acre Basal area per acre 

stocking Stand Merchantable volume" 

treatment 1 .O-6.9 7.0 inches 1 .O-6.9 7.0 inches per acre 

(percent) inches d.b.h. d.b.h. and larger inches d.b.h. d.b.h. and larger 

----------.----------- Ft2 ------------------- Ft3 Board feet 

75 Initial 71 6 222 43.2 123.5 4,215 10,860 

Cut 47 65 10.2 29.4 942 1,621 

Residual 669 157 33.0 94.1 3,273 9,239 

60 Initial 64 1 229 44.5 124.0 4,208 10,553 

Cut 62 104 13.1 47.2 1,524 2,701 

Residual 579 125 31.4 76.8 2,684 7,852 

45 Initial 601 240 41.9 133.4 4,560 1 1,720 

Cut 71 149 15.1 70.9 2,315 4,433 

Residual 530 9i 26.8 62.5 2,245 7,287 

0 Initial 553 207 38.1 127.1 4,451 13,281 

Cut 553 207 38.1 127.1 4,451 13,281 

Residual 0 0 0 0 0 0 

"Board-foot volume includes trees 10 inches d.b.h. and larger, cubic-foot volume includes trees 7.0 inches d.b.h. and larger. 

An experienced three-man crew using chain saws and a 

midsize (96 hp) wheeled skidder, felled and removed all 

marked trees that were 7.0 inches d.b.h. and larger. Marked 

trees smaller than 7.0 inches d.b.h. were felled and left in 

the woods. One crew member was responsible for all felling, 

limbing, and topping. The other crew members were involved with pulling cable, setting chokers (Fig. 2), skidding 

tree-length logs to the landing, and bucking logs on the. 

landing. Trees were topped at 4.0 inches diameter outside 

bark (d.0.b.) and skidded tree length. A maximum of 10 

chokers per hitch were used for skidding. 

Figure 2.-One crew member was responsible for pulling 

cable and setting chokers. 

Time Study Data 

Time study and yield data were collected during logging. 

Man hours were measured with stopwatches. Machine hours 

associated with log skidding were measured with a clock 

attached to the skidder. Machine hours associated with 

felling and bucking were estimated from the detailed time 

study data. 

Two major work cycles were timed: tree felling and log skidding. Productive time in the tree-felling cycle included the 

time required to walk from tree to tree, actual cutting time, 

and the time required to limb and top an individual tree. 

Productive time in the log-skidding cycle included the travel 

time of the skidder between the landing and the plots and 

the time required to set chokers, winch logs, and buck logs 

on the landing. Delays within the individual work cycles were 

included in the time study data (Fig. 3). Nonproductive activities such as coffee breaks and cleanups not related to the 

work cycles were timed and recorded separately. The time 

study data indicated the amount of productive time, delay 

time, and nonproductive time in an &hour day. 

Figure 3.-Tree-length logs entangled in slash-and residual stems were a major cause of skidding delays. 
Yield Data 

Yield data were collected in conjunction with the time study 

data. Prior to logging in a given 2-acre plot, d.b.h. was 

measured and painted on the side of each marked tree. The 

species and d.b.h. of each tree included in a felling or skidding cycle (Fig. 3) were recorded. 

The volume produced in each work cycle was determined 

from local volume tables developed for the immediate study 

area. Cubic-foot volume included wood and bark for all stem 

and branch sections that were at least 4.0 inches d.0.b. 

Board-foot volume, (International %-inch rule) included all 

sawlogs that met the requirements of USDA Forest Service 

log grades (Rast et al. 1973). 

Analysis 

A regression equation was developed for each treatment to 

predict productive felling time per tree as a function of cubicfoot volume per tree. Other variables, including d.b.h., slope, 

and board-foot volume per tree, were not significant at the 

5 percent level. A regression equation also was developed 

for each treatment to predict productive skidding time per 

turn as a function of number of logs per turn, one-way skidding distance per turn, and cubic-foot volume per turn. Other 

variables, including slope and board-foot volume per turn, 

were not significant at the 5 percent level. 

To compare production rates and logging costs among the 

four treatments, selected values were used in the equations 

to predict mean productive felling and skidding times (Table 

2). For felling, we used the mean volume per tree computed 

from the marked cut in each treatment. These values differed slightly from the mean volumes observed in the time 

study. For skidding, we predicted mean productive time 

based on an average load of 10 logs per turn in the thinning 

treatments and 8 log$ per turn in the clearcut treatment. 

These were the most frequently observed loads in each 

treatment, slightly more than the mean number of logs observed in the time stlidy. Volume per turn was estimated 

using number of logsltimes the volume per tree in each 

treatment (Table 2). We also used a one-way skidding distance of 500 feet per turn in each treatment. While the mean 

observed skidding distance varied among plots and treatments, 500 feet was the mean skidding distance throughout 

the study area. 

Using the regression equations and selected values (Table 

2) for each independent variable, mean productive times 

(delays not included) for felling and skidding cycles were 

predicted for each cutting treatment. Volume figures used in 

the equations were then combined with the predicted cycle 

times to compute production rate estimates for felling and 

skidding in cubic feet per productive hour (Table 3). 

An efficiency factor, which indicates the relationship between 

productive time and total time, was used to account for delays (Table 3). Production rate per scheduled hour is the 

product of efficiency factor and the production rate per productive hour. 

Results 

A total of 1,298 felling cycles was observed during the time 

study. Each felling cycle included the productive time and 

delay time required to fell, limb, and top a merchantable 

tree. For all observations combined, the average tree was 

9.0 inches d.b.h., the average volume was 15.2 ft3 per tree, 

and the average total production time was 3.7 minutes per 

tree. The average felling production rate was 244 ft3 per 

hour. 

Most felling delays were caused by the lower production rate 

in the skidding operation. In fact, felling delays were necessary to avoid delays in the skidding operation. Felling delays 

classified as "waiting for skidder, helping skidder, or resting" 

were periods when the feller had prepared enough treelength logs to sustain skidding production. If the feller had 

continued to fell and prepare logs during these delays, the 

excess slash and tops would have caused winching and 

travel problems for the skidder. As a result, the feller was 

able to keep up with the skidding operation even though 44 

percent of his total time was classified as delay or nonproductive time (Table 4). 

Table 2.-Selected values used in regression equations to compute 

felling and skidding production rates in four cutting 

treatments 

Residual 

stocking Number Of Skiddingb Volume pera tree-length" Volume perc 

treatment logs per turn distance turn tree 

(percent) 

aLoads based on most frequent number of logs observed in each treatment times volume 

per cut tree in each treatment. 

bMean one-way skidding distance throughout the study area. 

cMean volume per cut tree in each treatment. 
Table 3.-Felling and skidding production rates for four cutting treatments 

Residual 

stocking Production ratesa Efficiencyb Production rates Production rates 

treatment Subsystem per productive hour factor per scheduled hour per &hour day 

hercent) 

75 Felling 

Skidding 

60 Felling 

Skidding 

45 Felling 

Skidding 

0 Felling 

Skidding 

Percent 

59 

89 

56 

87 

55 

86 

50 

80 

askidding production rates are based on a mean one-way skidding distance of 500 feet per turn. 

bEfficiency factor is productive time divided by total time. 

Table 4.-Breakdown of felling delays observed 

in all residual stocking cutting 

treatments combined 

Table 5.-Breakdown of skidding delays observed 

in all residual stocking cutting 

treatments combined 

Delay category 

Percent Percent 

of felling of total 

delay time felling time 

Delay category Percent Percent of total 

of skidding skidding tirne 

delay time 

Waiting for skidder 43 

Equipment maintenance 25 

and refueling 

Resting 16 

Crew breaks 8 

Helping skidder 7 

Consultation - 1 

Total 100 

Waiting for product 34 5 

Crew breaks 27 4 

Equipment maintenance 18 3 

and refueling 

Product jam 14 2 

Consultation 4 1 

Travel impeded - 3 - <I 

Total 100 15 

We observed 205 skidding turns during the time study. Each 

skidding turn included the productive time and delay time 

required to travel into the woods, hookup, winch, skid, and 

buck a load of tree-length logs. For all observations combined, the average load consisted of 8.7 tree-length logs, 

and the average volume was 136 ft3 per load. Logs were 

skidded an average distance of 500 feet and the average total time was 35.7 minutes per turn. The average skidding 

production rate was 220 ft3 per hour. 

Delays accounted for only 15 percent of total skidding time, 

leaving few opportunities for increasing daily output (Table 

5). The most common delay, "waiting for product," accounted for 5 percent,of total skidding time. This delay usually resulted from hung trees or trees that could not be 

limbed and topped until they were winched free of slash. 

Production Rates 

Production rates were similar among the four cutting treatments (Table 3). Daily output ranged from 18.5 cunits per 

day in the 45 percent residual stocking treatment to 19.3 

cunits per day in the 60 percent treatment. Skidding was the 

"weak link in all treatments-that part of the logging system 

with the lowest output per day (Baumgras and Martin 1978). 

Thus, the skidding operation determined the production 

rate of the entire system. 

Costs 

Wages were assumed to be $7.00 per hour plus 31 percent 

mandatory fringe benefits for Social Security, Workmen's 

Compensation insurance, and unemployment insurance. The 

total labor cost for felling, bucking, and skidding was 

$220.08 per day (Table 6). 

Machine costs were computed by a method proposed by 

Miyata (1 980). Fixed costs associated with felling, bucking, 

and skidding were based on a new pickup truck and new 

chain saws (1 982 models) and a used skidder (1 978 model). 

Purchase prices and assumptions presented in Table 7 

were used to compute depreciation, interest, insurance, and 

taxes, the major components of fixed costs. The total fixed 

cost for the equipment used in felling, bucking, and skidding 

was $48.96 per day (Table 6). 

Variable machine costs were estimated using cost factors 

(Miyata 1980), actual operating hours, and the manufacturer's recommended maintenance schedule for each piece 

of equipment. Fuel, lubricants, filters, tires, chains and bars, 

maintenance, and repairs are the major components of variable costs. The skidder cost $9.93 per operating hour and 

operated 5.75 hours per day. Each chain saw cost $2.10 per 

operating hour. One saw used for felling operated 3.35 

hours per day, while a spare saw used for bucking on the 
deck operated 1.60 hours per day. The pickup truck cost 

$5.00 per operating hour and operated 2 hours per day. The 

total variable cost for the equipment used in felling, bucking, 

and skidding was $77.60 per day (Table 6). 

Wages and fixed machine costs were the same for all 

treatments. A comparison of machine operating time and 

variable machine costs indicated negligible differences 

among the treatments. Thus, the cost per unit of volume for 

logs bucked and decked at roadside landings was 

determined by dividing daily output into $346.64, the total 

daily cost in all treatments. 

Felling, bucking, and skidding costs were lowest in the 60 

percent residual stocking treatment and highest in the 45 

percent treatment (Table 8), but the difference in costs was 

less than $1 .OO per cunit. As a result, the cost of merchantable material decked at roadside landings was nearly the 

same in all treatments, ranging from $1 7.98 to $1 8.76 per 

cunit. Total logging costs, however, include the costs of 

loading and hauling and the cost of roads. While loading and 

hauling costs were the same for all treatments, road costs 

resulted in distinct differences among the four treatments. 

Table 6.-Labor and equipment costs associated with felling, 

bucking, and skidding 

ltem 

Cost per scheduled hour Cost per 

Fixeda Variable Total 8-hour day 

Labor (3-man crew) 

wages 

fringe benefits 

Equipment 

chain saw 

chain saw (spare) 

wheeled skidder 

pickup truck 

Total 

Dollars 

168.00 

52.08 

220.08 

afixed cost includes depreciation, 15-percent cost of capital, insurance, and taxes. 

Table 7.-Data used to compute machine costs 

associated with felling, bucking, and 

skidding 

ltem 

Scheduled Economic Salvage hours per Price life 

value "ear 

Dollars Years Percent Number 

Chain saw 650 2 20 1,800 

Chain saw (spare) 650 2 20 1,800 

Wheeled skidder 30,000 5 20 1,800 

Pickup truck 9,000 3 20 1,800 

Table 8.-Logging costs per cunit for four cutting treatments 

Residual Daily Daily Felling, bucking, Loading and Road Total 

stocking labor and production and skidding hauling cost logging 

treatment machine cost ratea cost costb cost 

aBased on daily skidding production as "weak link in the harvesting system 

bBased on one-way haul distance of 14 miles. 
Loading and hauling cost amounted to $14.50 per cunit 

(Table 8). This included the fixed and variable costs of two 

used tandem-axle trucks and a knuckleboom loader 

mounted on another tandem-axle truck. Labor costs included 

the wages and fringe benefits for two men. A local logging 

contractor provided data for estimating loading and hauling 

costs. 

Road costs per unit of volume depend on the volume harvested per acre, the length of road needed, and the cost per 

mile of road. Wheeled-skidder logging systems in the central 

Appalachian region require 1 mile of bulldozed road for 

every 20 acres of timberland harvested-skid roads account 

for 89 percent of road length and truck roads account for 

11 percent (Kochenderfer 1977). Skidroads cost about 

$1,200 per mile and minimum-standard truck roads with 

culverts cost about $8,100 per mile, excluding gravel (Kochenderfer and others 1984). Thus, the weighted cost of 

roads needed to employ a wheeled-skidder logging system 

is about $2,000 per mile. With access to 20 acres of forest 

land, the resulting road cost is $100 per acre. Using this 

estimated road cost per acre and the average yield per acre 

in each treatment (Table 9), we estimated that road costs 

ranged from $2.25 to $10.62 per cunit. Note that road costs 

per cunit decreased as more volume per acre was harvested 

(Table 8). 

Total logging costs ranged from $43.80 per cunit in the 75 

percent residual stocking treatment to $35.27 per cunit in the 

clearcut treatment (Table 8). 

Treatment Yields 

Product yields included sawlogs and pulpwood in each of 

the four cutting treatments. The average yield in the 75 

percent treatment was 1,621 board feet of sawlogs and 630 

ft3 of pulpwood per acre. Ninety-five percent of the sawlog 

volume was in small, factory grade 3 logs, 4 percent was in 

grade 2 logs, and 1 percent was in logs below grade. The 

total yield from this treatment was 942 ft3 per acre (Table 9). 

The average volume yield from plots thinned to 60 percent 

residual stocking was 2,701 board feet of sawlogs and 1,004 

ft3 of pulpwood per acre. Ninety-three percent of the boardfoot volume was in factory grade 3 logs, 6 percent was in 

Table 9.-Average volume yields per acre for 

cutting treatments 

Residual 

stocking Sample Average yielda 

treatment area per acre 

(percent) 

Acres Board feet Ft3 

75 8 1621 942 

60 8 2701 1524 

45 8 4433 231 5 

0 8 1 3281 4451 

"Cubic-foot volume includes wood and bark 4.0 inches d.0.b. for 

all roundwood removed. 

grade 2 logs, and 1 percent was in grade 1 logs. The total 

yield from this treatment was 1,524 ft3 per acre. 

In the 45 percent treatment, the average yield included 

4,433 board feet of sawlogs and 1,462 ft3 of pulpwood per 

acre. Ninety-one percent of the board-foot volume was in 

factory grade 3 logs, 7 percent in grade 2 logs and 2 percent in grade 1 logs. The total yield was 2,315 ft3 per acre. 

The average yield from the clearcut treatment was 13,281 

board feet of sawlogs and 1,897 ft3 of pulpwood per acre. 

Seventy-three percent of the board-foot volume was in factory grade 3 logs, 18 percent in grade 2 logs, and 9 percent 

in grade 1 logs. The total merchantable yield was 4,451 ft3 

per acre, including both sawlogs and pulpwood (Fig. 4). 

Figure 4.-Most of the board-foot volume yield was in 

small, sound logs. 

Discussion 

This study provided the basic information needed to estimate cash flows associated with initial thinning treatments 

and clearcutting in 60-year-old Allegheny hardwood stands. 

Average product yields and market prices were used to 

compute potential revenues associated with each treatment. 

Logging production rates and selected assumptions regarding roads, wages, and machine costs were used to determine how each treatment affected landowner and logger 

income. 

Markets were available for the products harvested from the 

study area. A local sawmill paid stumpage prices of $63 per 

thousand board feet (M bf) for woods-run sawtimber and 

$3 per cunit for pulp,yood. Roads were constructed prior to 

the timber sale, so these prices did not include an adjustment for road costs. Where roads are needed, stumpage 

prices would be reduced and the landowner would receive 
less revenue than these prices indicate. In the current recommended thinning treatment (60 percent residual stocking), 

actual stumpage revenues exceeded probable road costs 

by about $100 per acre (Table 10). With this excess revenue, the landowner could pay for other sale costs, such 

as cruising and marking the timber, maintaining boundary 

lines, and supervising the harvest. Thus, thinning to 60 percent residual stocking can result in positive cash flows, even 

where access roads are needed. Because yields and total 

revenues increased with heavier removals, the 45 percent 

treatment and the clearcut treatment also can result in positive cash flows where roads are needed. The 75 percent 

treatment did not provide sufficient revenues to be commercially viable in areas without access roads. 

Roads constructed for initial commercial thinnings will benefit 

the landowner in future sales. Hawesting costs will be reduced and the landowner will receive higher stumpage revenues in later operations. Long-term profitability will depend 

on residual stand growth and future market conditions, but 

the results indicate that thinnings in stands similar to the 

study area would pay for access roads, provide immediate 

income for the landowner, and improve the potential for 

future profits. 

Income for the logging contractor is the difference between 

revenues for products delivered to the mill and the total cost 

of felling, bucking, skidding, loading, and hauling merchantable material. Because road costs are accounted for in the 

stumpage price, the landowner actually pays for access 

to the timber. The timber buyer in this study paid local logging contractors $68 per M bf for sawlogs and $34 per cunit 

for pulpwood delivered to the mill. Payments for products 

exceeded logging costs in all four harvest treatments (Table 

11). 

Time studies disclosed moderate differences in logging 

costs. The production rates varied less than 100 ft3 per day, 

and daily costs were equal. Income for the logging contractor increased as more volume per acre was removed, primarily because roundwood products were more valuable in 

the heavier cutting treatments. The profit margin was highest 

in the 60 percent treatment, about 6 percent. 

Table 10.-Harvest revenues, costs, and income per acre for the landowner 

Residual Stumpage revenue 

stocking Sawtimber Pulpwood Total Road Landowner 

treatment Price revenue costs income 

Yield Revenue Price Yield Revenue per acre per acre per acre 

(percent) per M bf per acre per acre per cunit per acre per acre 

Dollars M bf Dollars Dollars Cunits Dollars ------------------ Dollars ------------------- 75 63 1.62 102 3 6.3 19 121 100 21 

60 63 2.70 170 3 10.0 30 200 100 100 

45 63 4.43 279 3 14.6 44 320 100 220 

0 63 13.28 837 3 19.0 57 894 100 794 

Table 11 .-Logging revenues, costs, and income per acre for the logging contractor 

Residual Logging revenues Logging costs 

stocking Sawlogs Pulpwood Total Cost Yield Cost Income 

revenue 

treatment payment Yield Revenue Payment Yield Revenue per acre per Per Per 

cunit acre per acre 

(percent) per M bf per acre per acre per cunit per acre per acre acre 

Dollars Mbf Dollars Dollars Cunits Dollars Dollars Dollars Cunits Dollars Dollars 

75 68 1.62 110 34 6.3 21 4 324 33.18 9.4 31 2 12 

60 68 2.70 184 34 10.0 340 524 32.48 15.2 494 30 

45 68 4.43 301 34 14.6 496 797 33.26 23.2 772 25 

0 68 13.28 903 34 19.0 646 1,549 33.02 44.5 1.469 80 
Literature Cited 

Baumgras, John E.; Martin, A. Jeff. The weak link logging 

system analyzer. Gen. Tech. Rep. NE-40. Broomall, 

PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station; 1978. 63 p. 

Kochenderfer, J. N. Area in skidroads, truck roads, and 

landings in the central Appalachians. Journal of Forestry. 75(8):507-508; 1977. 

Kochenderfer, J. N.; Wendel, G. W.; Smith, H. Clay. Cost of 

and soil loss on "minimum-standard" forest truck 

roads constructed in the central Appalachians. Res. 

Pap. NE-544. Broomall, PA: US. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment 

Station; 1984. 8 p. 

Leak, William B. Do stocking guides in the eastern United 

States relate to stand growth? Journal of Forestry. 

79(10):661-664; 1981. 

Miyata, Edwin S. Determining fixed and operating costs 

of logging equipment. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-55. St. Paul, 

MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North 

Central Forest Experiment Station; 1980. 16 p. 

Rast, Everette D.; Sonderman, David L.; Gammon, Glenn L. 

A guide to hardwood log grading. Gen. Tech. Rep. 

NE-1. Upper Darby, PA: US. Department of Agriculture, 

Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment Station; 

1973. 32 p. 

Roach, B. A. A stocking guide for Allegheny hardwoods 

and its use in controlling intermediate cuttings. Res. 

Pap. NE-373. Upper Darby, PA: US. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Northeastern Forest Experiment 

Station; 1977. 30 p. 
Miller, Gary W.; Sarles, Raymond L. Costs, yields, and revenues associated 

with thinning and clearcutting 60-year-old cherry-maple stands. Res. 

Pap. NE-582. Broomall, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, 

Northeastern Forest Experiment Station; 1986. 18 p. 

Logging costs, product yields, and harvest revenues were determined for three 

thinning treatments (75, 60, and 45 percent residual stocking) and clearcutting 

in 60-year-old cherry-maple stands. The study area was logged by a three-man 

crew using chain saws and a wheeled skidder. Time study and yield data indicated that production rates and costs were similar among the four treatments. 

Production rates ranged from 18.5 to 19.3 cunits per day, depending on the 

treatment. Total logging costs, including felling, bucking, skidding, loading, hauling, and roads, ranged from $44 to $35 per cunit, decreasing as the cut increased. Sawlog yields ranged from 1,621 to 13,281 board feet per acre 

(International '/a-inch rule), while pulpwood yields ranged from 630 to 1,897 

cubic feet per acre. Harvest revenues were sufficient to pay for roads and timber sale costs in all treatments except the lightest thinning treatment. 

ODC 242:221 .01:651 

Keywords: thinning; clearcutting; yields; costs; revenues 
Headquarters of the Northeastern Forest Experiment Station are in 

Broomall, Pa. Field laboratories are maintained at: 

Amherst, Massachusetts, in cooperation with the University of 

Massachusetts. 

0 Berea, Kentucky, in cooperation with Berea College. 

0 Burlington, Vermont, in cooperation with the University of 

Vermont. 

Delaware, Ohio. 

0 Durham, New Hampshire, in cooperation with the University of 

New Hampshire. 

0 Hamden, Connecticut, in cooperation with Yale University. 

0 Morgantown, West Virginia, in cooperation with West Virginia 

University, Morgantown. 

0 Orono, Maine, in cooperation with the University of Maine, 

Omno. 

Parsons, West Virginia. 

0 Princeton, West Virginia. 

0 Syracuse, New York, in cooperation with the State University of 

New York College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry at 

Syracuse University, Syracuse. 

0 University Park, Pennsylvania, in cooperation with the 

Pennsylvania State University. 

Warren, Pennsylvania.