labor rates

[spencerhenry]

i am not a logger by trade, but i do some easement clearing, and wildfire fuel reduction. always by myself at a bid rate. recently another logger guy asked me if i was interested in coming to do some cutting and or skidding for him.
what is the going rate for a feller, in a large cut, and in a selective cut? by the hour and by the mbf? what is the going rate for a cable skidder and operator? hourly?, and by the mbf? i am in the central rockies. in the selective cuts, i would be felling, and skidding, and then limbing (all slash has to be removed and chipped). any thoughts?

 

[logcutter429]

I cut for a summer out of Montrose Co. in the early 80s, i was making 13.00 mbf don't know how that will help but i'd be kinda curious what the price is myself these days.

 

[Down To Earth]

I cut a 100 acre fire mitigation area in Genesee right off the 70 about 20 miles west of denver. I was making 15hr this was in 2001

 

[swampwhiteoak]

I have no idea what production rates are in Denver. In Ohio I've seen contract fallers make between $.15-.25/bf when they provide their own truck, saw, lunch, ect. People working by the day and with the boss's tools usually get $150+/day. If you're skidding with the boss's skidder I would think about $15/hr.

 

[spencerhenry]

thanks for the info. when you guys say $13/mbf, or $.15 to $.25 per bdft, i assume that is just to fell limb and buck? i have my own skidder, it is an older machine but still works well. the rate i was offered by this guy was $40 to $45/ hr for me and the machine. i was to supply my own diesel, and my own truck and saw. or he offered $50/mbf for felled skidded, limbed and bucked timber. most trees i would be cutting would average 16" dbh or less.
any more ideas?

 

[Jacob J.]

Hello- $50/mbf for logged timber is pretty low. I'm assuming most of the ground is fairly easy to work on for a rubber tired skidder.

Depending on the wood size you better be getting over $90/mbf for getting everything to the landing and having it manufactured ( limbed, trimmed, and bucked ).

If this logger is selling to reputable mill, he's getting at least $450/mbf delivered. His trucking costs are only going to run about $80/mbf at the most. If you log his timber for $50/mbf, he'll be looking at a gross profit of at least $320/mbf, and that's ???? good money for him. And these are conservative numbers.

The last time I logged a piece I did it for no less than $150/mbf, because I had to rent a machine. The landowner hired self-loaders to haul the wood @$70/mbf., and he was getting $620/mbf delivered. He still made $1400/truck gross profit and we sent three trucks in per day.

 

[spencerhenry]

thanks for the info. he sells the logs to the mills at $375/mbf, or at least that is what he says, i have heard from some of the mill operators that they pay $400/mbf for nothing smaller than 14" tip. most of the land around here where the cutting is done, is not flat. some of it very rocky. some places i have cut, a skidder cant climb the hill, some other places you can drive up or down, but cant turn around or sidehill.

 

[Jacob J.]

If the ground is that bad I wouldn't compromise on the price. If it's rocky and steep in some areas, and this is a hardwood stand that averages 16" on the stump, you're going to be lucky to average 8-9mbf a day at the landing with your rubber-tired skidder. In the places that you can't climb the hill or turn around, that means a lot of time on the ground setting chokers and rigging, and using your winch. If you get 9mbf/day at the landing ready to haul, you'd be doing ok. If it's kinked up hardwood your haulers are going to be lucky to get 3-3.5/mbf on each load. The lowest I'd go for cut and hauling on that job would be $80/mbf. His hauling costs are going to average $80/mbf, which leaves him $215-$225/mbf gross, but there's a few misc. costs to be subtracted from that as well. I'd say that's a fair deal for everyone.