Pre-harvest estimation of value of trees in forest stands based on market demand: A cost optimization model for Northwestern Ontario

近年来，由于国内成本条件的恶化和全球竞争的加剧，安大略省西北部的森林工业面临着巨大的竞争压力。缺乏竞争力导致安大略省西北部的一些工厂关闭，而全球市场对高质量结构木材的需求一直在不断上升，这种木材完全由软木品种生产。这是西北安大略省林产品工业可以提高其在全球市场竞争力的领域。然而，为了经济有效地生产高质量的木材，森林工业需要木材质量等级和树干特征之间关系的特定林分和精确信息。另一个分配问题，没有在文献中解决的是木材分类到不同生产单位的运输成本的优化。

The forest industry in Northwestern Ontario has been under significant competitive pressure in recent years due to deteriorating cost conditions at home and increasing global competition. The lack of competitiveness has resulted in a number of mill closures in Northwestern Ontario, whereas the demand for high quality structural lumber, which is exclusively produced from softwood species, has been constantly rising in the global markets. This is an area where Northwestern Ontario's forest products industry can improve its competitiveness in the global market. However, in order to cost effectively produce high-quality lumber, the forest industry needs stand-specific and precise information of the relationship between the lumber quality grade and stem characteristics. Another allocation issue that has not been addressed in the literature is the optimization of the transportation costs of wood assortments to different production units.