There was a time (not that long ago I’m told) when lumber used to be loose-loaded, hand-bombed, into single-door box cars. It’s suggested that sometimes there were even claims borne out of dimension loads arriving at destination in a state of intolerable jumble of random lengths, adding exorbitant unloading costs. No doubt these were forerunners in the call for efficiencies such as unitized packages, paper or poly under top tier, or paper-wrapped shipments that are still the flatcar standard for most rail shipments today.

Technological advances have also shaped new efficiencies in lumber production that have revolutionized the industry – resulting, in most cases, in significantly reduced labour costs. The implementation of efficiencies represents creative energies that have shaped progression of development in the woods industry. Not surprisingly, the question of how many lumber traders it takes to change a light bulb is largely obsolete these days, when light bulbs themselves are more efficient.  From the following YouTube video, it’s evident that even the answer of how many guys it takes to load a bobcat onto a truck without a ramp might surprise. (HT: Ernie Harder)