Timber log hauling software that reconciles every mill scale ticket back to the load you sent
Timber log hauling is the trucking of harvested logs from the landing to a mill, where the load is scaled and paid on the mill's measurement rather than the trucker's. Logging sits at the top of the occupational fatality tables at roughly 110.4 deaths per 100,000 full time equivalent workers in 2024 against 3.3 for all workers, and the federal interstate weight limit is 80,000 pounds. Neurobird joins the tract, the load, the scale ticket and the settlement.
Neurobird Timber Log Hauling in short
- Record the tract, product, truck and destination mill before the load leaves the landing
- Match every mill scale ticket back to the load it belongs to, same day
- Flag missing tickets and short scales while the mill can still be asked about them
- 1910.266 Logging operations have their own OSHA standard, covering the saw, the landing and the truck, because the work sits at the top of the fatality tables year after year. eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.266
- 80,000 Federal maximum gross vehicle weight in pounds on the Interstate system, before the bridge formula lowers it further, which is why a log load is built to a number. eCFR, 23 CFR 658.17
- Pricing runs 55 to 190 US dollars per month across 3 tiers. Early access is free.
What timber hauling contractors actually deal with
Why it stays broken
A load is created in the woods and priced at the mill, and the 2 events are days and 60 miles apart. Between them sit the tract, the product, the truck, the driver and the contract rate, and most operations keep all of it in a spiral notebook and a settlement spreadsheet built once in 2014.
A load short scaled by 1.5 tons is money you never see, and across 900 loads a season the gap is a truck payment.
Other 10 percent scale tolerance* * The Florida Department of Transportation is required to publish weight tables and charts that incorporate the 10 percent tolerance into its figures (Fla.
Neurobird Timber Log Hauling Compliance Platform
Record the load when it is built, not when the ticket comes back, then reconcile the mill scale against your own count instead of simply accepting it.
- 1Record the tract, product, truck and destination mill before the load leaves the landing
- 2Match every mill scale ticket back to the load it belongs to, same day
- 3Flag missing tickets and short scales while the mill can still be asked about them
- 4Settle contractors and owner operators from reconciled tickets rather than from memory
What changes with Neurobird Timber Log Hauling?
The same work, read left to right: how it runs today, and how it runs once the record is in one place.
| Today | With Neurobird Timber Log Hauling |
|---|---|
| The load leaves the landing as an estimate and comes back as a mill scale ticket days later, and nothing reconciles the 2 numbers | Record the tract, product, truck and destination mill before the load leaves the landing |
| Short scales, deductions and missing tickets are found at settlement, weeks after anybody could do something about them | Match every mill scale ticket back to the load it belongs to, same day |
| Legal weight changes by state and by route, so the same load is fine on one road and a citation on the next | Flag missing tickets and short scales while the mill can still be asked about them |
Who is this for?
Same load, three different exposures.
You drive your own truck
Every short scale comes straight out of your pocket. You need the load you hauled written down before the mill writes down theirs.
You run a crew and 4 trucks
You are paying drivers and billing a dealer from the same tickets. You need one reconciled set of numbers, not two.
You buy and move wood
Several tracts, several mills, several haulers. You need to see which combination actually makes money instead of guessing at season end.
The load, as your dispatcher would run it
A working preview. Tick a line to add it to the load record.
| Requirement | Status | Next due | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mill scale ticket, 28.4 tons | current | in 42d | |
| Weight tolerance permit, state route | due soon | in 9d | |
| Pulpwood load to chip mill | current | in 120d | |
| Trip to mill 3, 62 miles | overdue | 3d late | |
| Tract 7 landing, sawlogs | current | in 64d |
Tick a requirement to file evidence against it.
How does Neurobird Timber Log Hauling work?
Build the load at the landing
Tract, product, destination mill and truck are recorded before the wheels turn, offline when the woods have no service.
Match the mill ticket
Scale weight, ticket number and deductions post against the load you sent, so a missing or short ticket shows up the same day.
Settle on the record
Rates by ton, by mile or by load feed contractor settlement and owner operator pay from one reconciled ticket.
What actually governs a log truck
Useful if you are scoping haul or arguing a weight ticket. Each source links out.
Logging operations have their own OSHA standard, covering the saw, the landing and the truck, because the work sits at the top of the fatality tables year after year.
eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.266Federal maximum gross vehicle weight in pounds on the Interstate system, before the bridge formula lowers it further, which is why a log load is built to a number.
eCFR, 23 CFR 658.17State truck size and weight laws are compiled against the federal part, and log haul tolerances differ by state and by route, so the legal load changes when you cross a line.
FHWA, truck size and weightHours of service apply to log trucks like any other commercial motor vehicle, with short haul and agricultural exceptions that are easy to assume and hard to prove afterwards.
eCFR, 49 CFR Part 395Approximate acres in the National Forest System, where federal timber sale contracts add their own load accountability and haul reporting on top of state rules.
USDA Forest Service, forest managementTimber log hauling software questions, answered
Key terms
- What is timber log hauling?
- Timber log hauling is the trucking of harvested logs from the landing to a mill, where the load is scaled and paid on the mill's measurement rather than the trucker's. The scale ticket is the commercial document that decides what the load was worth, and it usually reaches the contractor after the truck has already gone back for another one.
How are log loads paid?
Usually by weight at the mill scale, sometimes by volume in board feet or cords, with deductions for defect, dirt or overweight. Haul is then paid by the ton, by the mile, by the load or on a zone rate, which is why the same ticket can produce 3 different numbers depending on who is doing the arithmetic.
What can a log truck legally carry?
The federal maximum gross vehicle weight on the Interstate system is 80,000 pounds, lowered further by the bridge formula, and states set their own limits and log haul tolerances on other routes. That is why the legal load changes when you cross a state line or leave the Interstate.
Do log truck drivers need electronic logs?
Hours of service under 49 CFR Part 395 apply to log trucks like any other commercial motor vehicle. There are short haul and agricultural exceptions that many operations rely on, and they are easy to assume and hard to prove after the fact.
Does this replace our accounting system?
No. It reconciles loads to scale tickets and produces settlement figures. Payroll, invoicing and tax stay where they are, fed from numbers that have already been checked.
Why we are building this
Log hauling is one of the few businesses where the customer measures the product and tells you what you earned. That is not unfair, it is just how mill scaling works, and it means the trucker's own record matters more, not less.
Most operations do not keep one. The load is a tally mark, the ticket arrives later, and by settlement nobody can say which loads went missing or which tract was actually profitable.
We would rather build this with people who have loaded at a landing in the dark. Tell us how your loads and tickets flow, and where we have got it wrong.
Where the requirement comes from
Public sources on weight, hours and the standard that covers logging work.
- eCFR, 23 CFR 658.17 weight The 80,000 pound federal interstate limit and the bridge formula that reduces it.
- FHWA, truck size and weight How federal and state size and weight rules interact, including where state tolerances apply.
- eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.266 logging operations The OSHA standard written specifically for logging, from felling through transport.
- USDA Forest Service, forest management Federal timber sale and forest management context, including where haul reporting obligations come from.
How much does Neurobird Timber Log Hauling cost?
Priced per truck because the truck is what produces loads and tickets. Unlimited tracts, mills and rate sheets on every tier.
- Load records at the landing
- Offline capture
- Scale ticket matching
- Load history export
- Email support
- Everything in Owner operator
- Tract and product tracking
- Missing ticket alerts
- Haul rate sheets
- Named contact
- Everything in Logging contractor
- Settlement runs
- Mill ticket import
- Weight and permit records
- Onboarding included
Get free early access
If you haul timber, tell us how a load gets from the landing to a settlement figure today.
Straight answer on where this is: In development. Early access gets the working preview, a say in what ships first, and early access pricing. It does not get you a login today.
Prefer email? Write to office@neurobird.com and a person will reply. No autoresponder.