According to an April 2009 report released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there were at least 84 natural gas pipeline projects completed in the contiguous United States in 2008. This added nearly 4,000 miles of natural gas pipeline and increased the natural gas pipeline grid capacity by roughly 43.9 billion cubic feet per day. This growth indicates a three fold increase over 2007. As anyone slightly familiar with the process of pipeline construction can tell you, this growth would not be possible were it not for the benefits of hardwood mats. Dixie Mat, commercially selling new and used hardwood mats, has served as a crucial partner in the process of pipeline construction as the industry surged.

While it’s no surprise that pipeline construction requires hardwood mats, the extent of their use is quite amazing. Every step in the construction project reveals a substantial need for these hardwood crane mats. When pipe is brought in by water, hardwood mats are there; hardwood crane mats are used as dunnage when pipe and equipment are shipped via barge. Camp stability is ensured by hardwood crane mats, providing support as a temporary, but reliable foundation for camp modules. Crane mats also serve as swamp mats that support pipeline equipment on weak or low-load bearing soil, preventing accidents and extreme soil degradation. Hardwood mats also can serve as bridges along the pipeline right-of-way over streams, marshes, swampland, and unstable terrain. Pipeline mats are even used as dunnage in the pipe laydown yard to support pipe joints. While this list of uses for hardwood mat is substantial, and certainly not complete, the most critical role of hardwood crane mats remains in their function as pipeline skids and in their role in the support of individual joints and strings of welded pipe before the pipe strings are lowered into the trench.