Feature Overview

Maintaining a perfectly timed supply chain is critical to preventing bottlenecks on your factory floor. If you notice a single piece of processed lumber sitting idly at the end of a production line while your automated forklifts refuse to drive over and collect it, do not worry! This is not an application bug or a routing glitch. It is a fundamental, built-in load optimization rule designed to maximize your logistics fleet's physical efficiency.

How to Access

You can monitor this material handling behavior live by observing the transit paths between your final Sanding/Milling Machinery lines and the central Warehouse Parallel Storage Sections.

Core Mechanics & Capacity Rules

The transport fleet in Lumber Inc operates on strict logistical guidelines to ensure vehicles do not waste fuel or create unnecessary yard congestion:

  • The Minimum Capacity Threshold: By default, every warehouse forklift has a strict internal minimum capacity of 3 planks/pieces of wood. The vehicle will actively ignore a loading zone until at least 3 units have accumulated and are ready for bulk transit.

  • Scaling Cargo Limits: As you upgrade your physical forklift hardware using your sawmill cash, the vehicle's maximum carrying capacity increases. This allows it to transport much larger stacks per trip, but it will scale its bulk pick-up baseline accordingly.

  • The High-Priority Order Override: There is one major exception to the minimum load rule. If you accept a contract on your shipping board or inside the Workshop that requires a specific, low volume (such as exactly 1 or 2 planks), the system triggers an immediate Order Priority Override. The forklift will instantly break its standard capacity rules, drive over to collect the single piece of wood, and deliver it directly to fulfill the customer's request.

Tips and Strategies

  • Don't Fret Over Single Items: It can be tempting to sit and wait for the yard to look perfectly clear, but single planks left on pads do not halt your assembly lines. Let your machinery run; as soon as the second and third pieces exit the sanders, your forklift will snap into action automatically.

  • Upgrade Wisely for Heavy Waves: If you have aggressively upgraded your production line speeds but left your forklift capacity low, your machinery pads will constantly overfill. Ensure you balance your cash investments so that forklift load thresholds rise in tandem with machine output velocities.