Last updated: December 23, 2025
Summary of More Crane Mats Per Truck
More mats per truck means lower freight cost per mat because Eucalyptus crane mats are both stronger and lighter, so each truck can safely carry more mats than mixed hardwood.
Over time, as Eucalyptus mats wear in, you can increase from about 25 to around 30 mats per truck for 6″ timber mats and from about 12 to roughly 15 crane mats per truck for 12″ mats, further improving your economics.
These gains from more mats per truck can deliver freight savings of roughly $60 per mat on some crane mat moves, stacking into tens of dollars per mat every time the mats are transported.
More Crane Mats per Truck Lowers Freight Cost
Eucalyptus timber mats and crane mats are unusual for one reason – you get more mats per truck than you’d expect from a material this strong. Usually a stronger material means heavier, fewer mats per load, and higher freight cost per mat. In the case of World Forest Group’s Eucalyptus crane mats, they are both stronger and lighter, so you can load more mats and cut total haul cost per mat.
That means you do not give up anything in durability or long life, but you save on freight every time you move mats. For example, the 16′ x 4′ x 6″ Eucalyptus timber mats above start at about 25 mats per truck when new. After six months of wear‑in, you can often get around 30 mats per truck while maintaining comparable strength to most 8″ timber mats.
For a thicker Eucalyptus crane mat, the 16’x4’x12″ mat starts at 12 mats/truck; after 6 months you’ll get closer to 15 mats/truck. That’s a big savings vs. 10 mixed hardwood mats/truck.
Substitute Eucalyptus Strength for Mixed Hardwood Thickness
Let’s take that 6″ Eucalyptus timber mat and compare it to an 8″ mixed hardwood mat. Say your haul cost is $1,800 per truck. Industry sources put current USA flatbed trucking rates in the roughly $2.5–3.0 per‑mile range in 2025, depending on lane and market conditions, which makes reducing the number of truckloads even more valuable for large matting projects. That’s roughly a 500 mile haul. With mixed hardwood, you might load about 18 mats per truck, so freight runs roughly $100 per mat. A similarly strong 6″ Eucalyptus timber mat starts at 25 mats per truck, which drops freight to about $72 per mat. After six months, when you are fitting closer to 30 mats per truck, freight falls to about $60 per mat.
For a Eucalyptus crane mat the savings are much larger. $1800/truckload at 10 mixed hardwood mats/truck ≈ $180/mat. More crane mats per truck with Eucalyptus, especially after 6 months – your cost is ≈ $1800/15 mats = $120/mat. $60/mat every time you move the crane mats.
Freight Savings per Mat
On the first move, you have effectively pocketed about $28 per mat, and on the second move six months later, you have pocketed another $40 per mat. In total, you have captured around $68 per mat in freight savings alone, before considering longer mat life or fewer replacements. If you are moving short hauls more frequently, those savings stack up quickly and turn into more profit on every job.
How is this possible? It is a feature of the particular Eucalyptus species, plantation growing conditions, and precision manufacturing. In general, strength is directly related to wood weight; there is a roughly straight‑line relationship between strength on the x‑axis and weight on the y‑axis. Individual species fall above and below that line. This species, plus good growing conditions and tight manufacturing tolerances, produces a mat that is both stronger and lighter, which is why you can safely run more mats per truck.
