Formulation of the truck selection process for secondary transportation in Hyrcanian forests.

This study evaluates different strategic courses of action concerning the secondary transportation sector in Hyrcanian forests of Iran. The decision support method Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) has been utilized in the assessment of different strategies in truck selection. The assessments are based on the opinions of a group of experts in Iranian forest industries. Results showed that the truck compatible with technical characteristics of road (W=0.558) is more important than transportation cost (W=0.122) and compatible with log size (W=0.320). In addition, the five axles truck (W=0.754) is cost effective than two (W=0.065) and three axles truck (W=0.181), but In Hyrcanian Forests of Iran, the curve radius and width of roads are low. So, the passage of five axles is difficult. The tire pressure and consequently road damages by two axles trucks is more than other trucks. Finally, the trucks were arranged as three axles > two axles > five axles according to priority. The optimum truck found by the formulation is the three axles truck (W=0.634).