WAF's answer is not responsive. The question was how could MFP make money in Humboldt County without a railroad. The lumber industry in Humboldt County has not been productive since the last year the railroad was in operation. The California Dept. of Finance, Board of Equalization reports timber production in Humboldt County dropped from over 3.7 billion board feet in 1997 to less that 0.4 billion board feet by 1999 – an almost 90% drop in less than 24 months coinciding with loss of the railroad. That depressed level has continued since 1999 through 2005 (See the attached table from the California Statistical Abstract). In that period, Humboldt County has also seen a concomitant shrinkage in the number of timber companies in business and in employment. That would not happen if timber could be trucked profitably. Admittedly, that trend begs the question of cause and effect. Over that same period, timber production fell in several other California counties and increased in a few. How much of the decline is caused by loss of cost-effective transportation and how much is due to environmental extremism or other pressures? Except for productivity, this single data set won't allow one to draw defintive conclusions

[www.dof.ca.gov]