Operational Costs of Mid-Performance Forwarders in Czech Forest Bioeconomy

Cut-to-length (CTL) operations are expanding in Central European bio-economies. However, they costly, so efficiency must be maximized. The objective of this study was to analyze direct operational costs three forwarders from the year 2006 until 2019. Annual amortization, services, materials, and personnel were analyzed compared through ANOVA, trends linear regression. Forwarders LVS 5, John Deere 1010, 1110E deployed coniferous forest stands with a mean stem volume between 0.10 0.84 m3/stem, forwarding distance 261 560 m. machines forwarded 4045 34,604 m3 timber per year, over times 490 3896 MH (machine hours)/year, reaching machine utilization 58% 89%, productivity 3.5 12.3 m3/MH, 20.95 84.39 €/MH. most substantial (35 66% total costs), followed by materials (14.9–27.1%), amortization (12.5–15.7%), services (3.3–22.1%). Differences different engine powers not observed.