EVALUATION OF FORWARDER WOOD EXTRACTION COST OF OPERATION

The objective of this study was to determine the costs of the activity of timber extraction done by forwarders until approximately 30,000 work hours. We used 7 John Deere forwarders, model 1710D with 160 kW engine power. A database provided by a forestry company located in the state of Minas Gerais was used, containing all the information necessary for calculating the operating cost of the machines and for the subsequent sensitivity analysis. The operating cost was obtained by the sum of the fixed and variable costs. For the sensitivity analysis a variation +/- 20% of the most representative elements of the total cost of the machine was performed. The result obtained for the average operating cost of the forwarder was US$ 147.80 h(-1). Costs for repairs and maintenance, labor, fuel, and depreciation represented approximately 90% of the total cost of the machine. A 10% reduction in their values resulted in a savings of approximately 9% in all years evaluated.