Journal of Forest Economics

This paper deals with the structural development of the German sawmilling industry between 1960 and 1995. During this period, the number of sawmills declined from 6,257 to 2,487, whereas the production volume of sawn timber increased from 7.7 to 12.4 million m^3. This development has been decisively influenced by the introduction of new conversion technologies between 25 and 30 years ago. This linkage between structural changes in the sawmilling industry and the new conversion technologies has been indicated earlier by some authors. This publication for the first time is basing such a statement on results of market analytical research. The target of this study is to give an overview of the development and structural changes between 1960 and 1995. Furthermore, it explains why these new conversion technologies could have such a strong influence on the structure of the German sawmilling industry.

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In Japan, 10,000,000 ha of artificial forests, including national forests, have been developed as the result of the post-World War II expansion of afforestation. Since the 1980s, however, an increasing number of forests have been insufficiently maintained due to the forest owners not having the capability to manage then amid progressive deterioration in forest management performance and great changes in the employment structures of forestry household members. In this report, the status and the conditions for successful forest management through long-term consignment of operation will be discussed by analyzing the characteristics of consignors and the status of forest operation practices of the Tatsuyama Village Forest Owners' Association (Tatsuyama Village FOA), a typical consignee in the business of long-term consignment of operation for private forests. At Tatsuyama Village, the forest owners who sustain forest management as a main or extra source of income all own artificial forests in the high age class. These forest owners engage in uninterrupted forest practices by reinvesting the income from log sales. Many of the small-scale forest owners who make up the majority of the consignors are running deficits in the tens of thousands of yen each year. To further expand consignment of operations from small-scale forest owners, the subsidiary programs need to be improved.

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This study examines tree felling or logging in Oregon State in the United States of America. Comparisons to the Japanese situation are examined. Results indicate that the scale of operation in the case of America is much larger and consequently productivity is also higher. There are large and small-scale operators in Oregon. Contracting of logging and the productivity of workers is much higher than Japan.

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