Product costing guide for wood dimension and component manufacturers

The North American hardwood dimension and components industry plays a critical role in the hardwood forest products industry as the industry is a user of high-value hardwood lumber. Customer expectations, global markets, and international competition, however, require hardwood dimension and components manufacturers to continuously improve their ability to manage their products and businesses. Accurate and timely product costing information is critically important for companies in planning the optimal utilization of company resources. While an overestimation of product costs can lead to loss of potential business and market share, underestimation of product costs can result in financial losses to the company. This paper introduces a product costing software package called WoodCite, which is designed specifically for small and medium-sized hardwood dimension and components manufacturers. WoodCite allows companies to determine product costs and create competitive bids based on their information. WoodCite uses a regression model to estimate overhead cost of a product based on historical cost information provided by the user. The application is available for free at http://www.nrs.fs.fed.us/tools/WoodCite/.