Efficiency of Softwood Sawmills in the Southern United States in Relation to Capacity

Large sawmills in the South took over much of the market share of small sawmills in a 10-year period, 1966 to 1976. Apparently large mills are currently in a better competitive position relative to smaller mills. The exact reasons for this are not clear although various authors point to both in- and out-of-plant factors. The role that conversion efficiency may play in allowing large sawmills to compete more effectively has not previously been examined. Data from numerous studies on lumber recovery factor (LRF), lumber variation, lumber sizing, cubic production, and kerf width were analyzed. It was found with few exceptions that the larger a mill is, the better it performs as regards these variables. Superior conversion efficiency is no doubt one important reason why large mills were able to increase their market share in the period examined.

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