Proper measurements are extremely significant for the forest owner, the harvesting company, the hauler, the final buyer, and the wood processing company. The accuracy of round wood volume determination is of fundamental importance in planning and accounting for individual processes related to the wood trade. It is the basis for determining the maximum quantity in single load of wood that allows for using the permissible total gross vehicle weight. The determination of wood load in cubic meters does not allow unequivocally determining its weight, which often leads to overloading of vehicles. This paper presents a comparison of the photo-optical method for determining the volume of wood to be transported with the real measurement and determination of the weight of a load and the total gross vehicle weight (GVW) with the simultaneous application of conversion factors determining the weight of the load from the volume of wood. The measurement included 23 broadleaf round wood piles (193.73 m3) and 14 coniferous round wood piles (149.23 m3). The measurement error for broadleaf wood piles ranges from −47.67% to 63.16%, and from −43.31% to 24.72% for coniferous wood piles. Determination of the volume of a broadleaf wood pile using the iFOVEA method had an average error of 1.34%, while the Timbeter method had an average error of −1.83%. In the coniferous wood pile measurement, the error is −12.82% and 2.41%, respectively. Verification of the volume of the large-sized wood indicated on the delivery note (reference value) on the log sorting line (by laser scanning) showed larger volumes by 0.10 m3 to 2.54 m3, giving a percentage error of 0.35% and 8.62%, respectively. As a consequence of the application of such methods for determining the weight of wood loads, the transport truck sets are often significantly overloaded, which has a significant impact on the accelerated degradation of roads and safety in traffic and timber transportation.

Transport of wood biomass is one of the key operations in forestry and in the wood industry. An important part is the transport of shredded wood, where the most common forms are chips and sawdust. The aim of the research was to present the variability of the total weight of trucks (gross vehicle weight, GVW), the weight of the empty trucks (tare), and loads of chips and sawdust in different periods of the year. Changes in specific parameters were analyzed: GVW; tare weight; trailer capacity; use of the trailer load capacity; bulk volume and bulk density of wood biomass loads; solid cubic meter (m3) and weight of 1m3 of the load; and load weight depending on the season, with simultaneous measurements of wood chips and sawdust moisture. More than 250 transports from four seasons of the year were analyzed in the research. It was found that the total weight of trucks (GVW) was at a comparable level, on average from 39.42 to 39.64 Mg with slight differences (with SD 0.29 and 0.39). The weight of empty trucks was 16.15 Mg for chip-bearing trucks and 15.93 Mg for sawdust-bearing trucks (with SD 0.604 and 0.526). The type of wood material has an influence on the transported volume. The average quantity of load in the bulk cubic meter was 64.783 m3 for wood chips (SD 3.127) and 70.465 m3 (SD 2.516) for sawdust. Over 30% differences in the volume of transported wood chips and approximately 18% for sawdust were observed. The use of the loading capacity of the trailer was on average 72.58% (SD 5.567) for the transport of wood chips and 77.42% (SD 3.019) for the transport of sawdust. The sawdust bulk density was from 0.3050 to 0.4265 Mg×m−3 for wood chips and 0.3200 to 0.3556 Mg×m−3 for sawdust. This parameter is significantly dependent on moisture content, and the determined correlation functions can be used for estimating and predicting bulk density. The abovementioned absolute moisture content of chips and sawdust also depends on the season, which also affects the selected parameters of wood biomass loads.

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This study analyzed the variability of truckloads of large-sized pine logs transported to a furniture manufacturing mill, depending on the origin of the timber, delivery period, length of the transported logs, volume of the load and its mass. It was assumed that the volume and mass of the transported timber load depends on the season of the year and the origin of the timber, which has a significant impact on the mass of one cubic meter of the load. The analysis of the wood origin parameters (location of its growth) took into account the type of forest habitat, soil type and stand abundance. The characteristics of the tree parameters from which the roundwood was obtained took into account age, diameter at breast height (DBH) and height of the stand. The origin of the timber was determined for 1063 timber loads from 40 forest districts transported over a 12 month period. We obtained an average timber load volume of 29.34 m3 which includes single shipments differing significantly in their volume of between 24.21 and 36.51 m3. The origin of the timber, habitat conditions and stand parameters of the harvesting site influence load mass and the mass of 1 m3 of load. The delivery date has an impact on the studied elements of the sawlogs load, with two similar periods—spring and summer. The volume of the transported timber is already at a stabilized level in accordance with legal regulations, which is no longer dependent on other factors and only on the accepted conversion factors for roundwood density and the mass of the empty vehicle set. This has not influenced a reduction in the mass of the transported timber.

Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) is one of the most important forest tree species in Europe, and its wood is a main raw material in the wood industry of many countries of the region. The high variability of pine wood density in connection with its moisture content is a challenge in transport operations. An important part of the roundwood transport of pine wood by trucks is the transport of large-size roundwood (sawlogs). As part of the research, an analysis was carried out of the influence of absolute wood moisture content, determined in various ways, on selected truck transport parameters of large-size pine wood. The analyses of the supply of wood to a large sawmill in northern Poland took into account different seasons. The results indicate that the average moisture content of the transported pine wood is at a level of approximately 95% (determined by dry weight) and the density at 0.878 Mg m−3 (determined using the stereometric method). Quick measurement with the use of a resistance hygrometer gives significantly lower results both on the side surface and on the cross-cut end of the log. Regardless of the method of measurement, the absolute moisture content of wood in loads depends on the date of delivery (season), which is reflected in the variability of the density and weight of the loads. The indicated strong correlations between the selected, tested characteristics of roundwood transports are important for forestry practice too. It is the possibility of using the methods of quick determination of fresh wood moisture to estimate the density of wood and to predict and determine the mass of the load.