Propensity of sawmills to produce structural sawn wood in Chile

Abstract

The goals of Chile’s forest policy regarding the use of wood in construction are far from being achieved. Chile is the ninth-largest global producer of sawn softwood and has an industry with numerous sawmills; however, structural sawn wood (SSW) represents less than 1 percent of the industry’s total production, which is insufficient to address large-scale construction programs with wood. Therefore, policy instruments are needed to lead to an increase in the volume of SSW production. This research aimed to design a typology of sawmills that facilitates the definition and implementation of these policy instruments to ensure attainment of the 2035 goal of the forest policy. Multiple linear regression and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the impact of various variables on SSW production; variable selection was done using stepwise regression. The number of clusters was determined using the gap method, and sawmill clusters were determined using k means. The result is a typology with five categories of sawmills based on their propensity to produce SSW. The most significant variable was the quality of the supply, so it is suggested to prioritize the management of Pinus radiata plantations. With this result, a map for the application of policy instruments was created, proposing an intervention pathway. The proposed typology will stimulate decisions to provide direct support to the sawmill industry, thereby increasing SSW production.