What is the timber supply chain?
The global timber supply chain describes each stage of timber production where trees are cut or harvested in forests, processed in sawn wood and wood chips, and then into household items, furniture and commercial products, and transported to retail stores for sale.
The supply chain begins at the point of harvest, where trees are logged and extracted from forests. The logs are then transported from the logging site to the processing site. This is usually done via road networks on trucks, or via waterways on boats or by floating the timber down the river.
A timber processing site can refer to a sawmill, pulp mill or paper mill. Once the logs arrive at the processing site, they are processed into sawn wood products, such as floor boards or planks of wood, or into wood chips that can be used for production of pulp and paper. After initial processing into sawn wood or wood chips, it may then be transported to factories for processing into finished wood products, such as furniture or musical instruments, or into paper and cardboard, for shipping and sale.
Once the wood has been processed, it is transported within the country to retail outlets, or exported to other countries where the timber or products enter overseas markets.