Fishery shipments that are OOS for the CFS are those that occurred prior to the first point of processing or before arrival at a distribution center.  Once the fishery shipments reach these points, they become an in-scope commodity for the CFS.  The commodity coverage for the fishery-related OOS shipments is SCTG 01.  For the OOS logging industry shipments, the commodity coverage falls within commodity code SCTG 25.  This covers shipments from field (forests) to processing facilities (timber cutting and/or transporting). 

6.1 DATA SOURCES ON FISHERIES

The major data source used for tonnage and value estimates of fishery shipments is the annual publication of Fisheries of the United States by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  It contains statistics on commercial and recreational fisheries of the United States with landings from U.S. territorial seas, the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and on the high seas.  The information reported in the Fisheries of the United States comes from field offices of the NMFS, with cooperation of the coastal states.  Statistics on U.S. commercial landings are available for major U.S. ports, regions (i.e., New England, Middle Atlantic, Chesapeake, South Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific Coast, Great Lakes, and Hawaii), and states.  The quantity (in million pounds) and value of these commercial fishery landings are also available.  Both 2012 and 2013 released reports are utilized in FAF4 to estimate tonnages and commodity values from shipments associated with this OOS area.

6.2 ESTIMATION OF FISHERIES SHIPMENTS

6.2.1 Estimating State-Level Total

The state-level total estimates of tonnage and values for these FAF4 OOS shipments were based on statistics published in the Fisheries of the United States reports (2012 and 2013 reporting years)⁶.  According to this published data, commercial fishery landings in the United States totaled approximately 4.8 million tons and were worth over $5.1 billion, in 2012.  Although fishery activities are relatively small in most states, the fishery industry is rather important for the State of Alaska.  To put this in perspective, Alaska’s commercial landing amounted to about 6% in value, and over 10% in weight, of the 2012 CFS totals with respect to the total shipments of all commodities covered under the CFS in 2012.

6.2.2 Estimating Regional Statistics and OD Flows

In addition to state-level information, statistics on tonnage and value for commercial fishery landings at major U.S. ports (top 104 by value) are also available from the NMFS reports⁷.  As a reference, the list of top 104 ports is provided in Appendix C.  This information is used in conjunction with the state totals to generate sub-state level estimates of tonnages and values for FAF. 

Using the geographic location of these specific 104 ports, tonnage and value of associated fishery shipments can be aggregated into corresponding FAF4 zones.  The residual amounts (i.e., difference between state total and the sum of major ports within the given state) were then allocated to the “rest of state” zones.  Under FAF, fishery shipments are assumed to be local activities (i.e., around dock areas), thus shipments are assumed to be intra-zone movements.  That is, the origin and the destination of a fishery shipment are assumed to be within the same FAF zone.  Moreover, movements for all shipments from this OOS area are assumed via truck.

6.3 DATA SOURCES FOR LOGGING

6.3.1 Forestry Inventory Data Online

The Forestry Inventory Data Online (FIDO) is an online tool maintained by the USDA Forest Service under the Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) National Program⁸.  The FIA database contains an extensive set of statistics, including total tree growth, mortality and removals by harvest.  The quantity of the harvest removals (in board feet) is collected by location and species type to determine the weight of the logs heading to processing facilities. 

The FIA is managed by the USDA Forest Service’s Research and Development organization in cooperation with state and private forestry and national forest systems.  The 2012 data is utilized for FAF4.

6.3.2 Timber Product Output (TPO) Reports

The Timber Product Output (TPO) Reports⁹ are produced by the USDA Forest Service.  For the states of California and Nevada, specifically, the TPO Reports are used to obtain the quantity of soft and hard wood from the published “2012 State Level Core Tables.”

6.3.3 State and Region Price Reports

The information on prices of soft and hard woods provided in various State or Region Price Reports are used to determine the value and tonnage of the OOS logging in FAF4.  Examples of the sources include the Timber Mart, Bureau of Business and Economic Research at the University of Montana, and the Texas Forest Service’s Stumpage Prices Trends.

6.4 ESTIMATING FLOWS OF LOGGING SHIPMENTS

The national, state, and county totals of board feet for OOS logging shipments can be estimated directly using statistics published in the FIDO andTPO reports.  Conversions are required to determine green tonnage based on the location and type of wood, softwood or hardwood.  The FIDO contains the board feet produced for both softwood and hardwoods at the county level. Since softwood and hardwoods can have different weights across the U.S., it is important to determine tonnage statistics based on available information from individual states, or use the state’s regional numbers.  These numbers are generally found in the State and Region Price Reports.  Regions in this context include the South, Pacific Coastal, Rocky Mountains, and North.

The value of FAF4 OOS logging shipments was also determined based on information obtained from various state and region price reports.  By gathering the cost of both softwood and hardwoods at the state and regional level, a more accurate calculation can be estimated for the value of shipments.  Based on information published in the FIDO, OOS logging in the U.S. totaled to approximately 239 million tons worth over $6.4 billion during 2012.  Among the total OOS shipments, softwoods comprised 144 million tons worth $3.65 billion, while hardwood was 95 million tons valued $2.75 billion in 2012.

In addition to state-level logging information, statistics for individual counties from the FIDO were used to estimate shipment statistics at the FAF4 zone level.  Specifically, based on the geographic location of counties, tonnage and value of associated shipments can be aggregated into their corresponding FAF zones.  Under FAF, the movement of OOS logging shipments is assumed to be local activity (i.e., travel from forests to local processing locations), thus shipments are assumed to be intra-zone movements. 

It is expected that OOS logging activities from forests to processing facilities would likely be moved by truck.  An examination of the Waybill Carload Sample data found that only about 2 million tons of rail shipments fall under the definition of this OOS category in 2012, which is less than 1% of the estimated total shipment tonnage for this OOS component.  For simplicity, all OOS logging shipments were assumed by truck under the FAF4 process.

⁶ Data also can be downloaded at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/commercial/index.html.

⁷ See http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/commercial/landings/lport_yeard.html.

⁸ “Data and Tools,” Forest Inventory and Analysis National Program, USDA Forest Service, http://www.fia.fs.fed.us/tools-data/. 

⁹ http://srsfia2.fs.fed.us/php/tpo_2009/tpo_rpa_int1.php