U.S. Army Turns to American Red Oak for Truck Floor Panels
Learn How Red Oak Could Replace Malaysian Keruing
American red oak lumber is headed to replace panels made of keruing (a Malaysian wood species) for use in the U.S. Army truck floor panels, according to an interview with Rep. Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania.
The switch will save the Army money due to having to replace the panels far less frequently over their lives of up to 40 years, according to research from the USFS Forest Products Laboratory and Michigan Technological University.
Red oak is populous in the Lake States and Northeastern states.
Thompson and Oregon Rep. Andrea Salinas also sponsored bipartisan legislation to encourage the use of mass timber in the construction of federal buildings in the Mass Timber Federal Buildings Act, which is under consideration in the U.S. House of Representatives. The text of that bill is available here:
https://thompson.house.gov/sit...