Abstract
This paper analyzes the logging industry as a form of capital, focusing on its structure, determining conditions, and current stage of development. It argues that the timber market has become oligopolized by large-scale wood processing enterprises, leaving little room for commercial profit in logging itself. Standing timber purchases now primarily function as a means to secure harvesting resources, a practice pursued more extensively by large corporations. Contrary to the view that small-scale logging enterprises are relics of the past, such enterprises universally persist within the industry. Forestry is constrained by regional labor markets and local timber markets, limiting its mobility and autonomy. Consequently, logging is restricted in plantation forests. However, the current stage is characterized by exploitative forestry. Timber producers have expanded wood supply by relying on large-scale wood processing capital. Yet this expansion depended on standing timber prices falling to postwar lows, effectively nullifying the traditional advantage of forest ownership. In conclusion, this paper suggests that industrial-scale timber production expansion does not
necessarily exclude small-scale operators；rather, they can persist as an essential component within the industry’overall structure.
