- Written June 4, 2026
Why a True 48-Inch Mat Can Save Hundreds of Mats Even on a Two-Mile Right of Way. What That Means to You
A lot of mat buyers focus on price per mat and miss the more important question: how many mats does the job actually require?
On a right of way, true width is everything. If one mat is a real 48 inches wide and another comes in at 43 inches actual, the narrower mat forces you to buy, rent, move, and manage more units to cover the same distance. That sounds like a rounding error until you run the numbers.
One mile equals 5,280 feet, or 63,360 inches. At a true 48-inch width, you need 1,320 mats per mile. At 43 inches actual, you need 1,473 mats per mile. That’s 153 extra mats per mile, just from the width gap.
On a 2-mile right of way, that’s 306 extra mats. For every 10 mixed hardwood mats you buy, you need only 9 Eucalyptus mats.
The difference impacts both purchase price and rental economics.
- You can afford to pay about 10% more for a true-to-size mat and you get better job profit because you transport 10% less mats. Same purchase dollars; lower ongoing freight.
2. If you are renting you save freight in, rental dollars/day and freight out on those 10% less mats.
Width is not a detail
In this market, people talk as if a “4-foot mat” is a universal product. It is not. A nominal dimension and an actual dimension are not the same thing, and that gap becomes expensive fast when multiplied across miles of right of way. That’s why, years ago, softwood lumber producers figured out how to sell a 2×4 but only produce something much thinner. (Yes, some of that is rough vs. surfaced but there’s a lot of additional profit in nominal vs. actual.)
At 43 inches actual width versus a true 48, you’re giving up 5 inches per mat, about 10% of your coverage. On a 6.787-mile right of way, that math means 10,001 mixed hardwood mats required versus 8,959 Eucalyptus mats: a difference of 1,042 mats. On a job that length, that’s not a rounding error. That’s multiple truckloads, multiple crews, and a materially different bid.
Dimension is not a specification. It is a job-cost variable.
Even a 2-mile job gets expensive fast.
Some buyers hear “save hundreds of mats” and assume the project must be unusually large. Not so.
At 2 miles, the gap is already 306 mats, before you account for freight, handling, or ROW moves.
Those 306 extra mats have to be sourced, delivered, unloaded, placed, picked, stacked, moved within the job, possibly moved to another project, and eventually hauled again. Width affects labor, trucking, job complexity, and bid economics; not just material count.
Why renters should care too
This is not only a buyer issue. Rental customers still pay for the consequences of deploying more mats than the job actually needs.
If a narrower mixed hardwood mat requires more units to cover the same right of way, the renter absorbs more freight exposure, more handling, more field clutter, and more opportunities for damage or delay. True size matters even when you’re agnostic on long-term longevity.
True size and freight work together
The real advantage is not width alone. Width and freight reinforce each other.
Eucalyptus powerline mats load at 19 new or 23 seasoned mats per truck. Mixed hardwood loads at 18. On a strength-adjusted basis, 6-inch Eucalyptus delivers roughly equivalent bending strength to an 8–11-inch mixed hardwood mat. That comparison means 25 new or 30 seasoned Eucalyptus mats per truck against 18 mixed hardwood. So, with Eucalyptus the buyer or renter benefits twice: fewer mats needed for the ROW, and more mats moved per load. Fewer trucks. Fewer moves. Lower total project cost.
WANT TO RUN THIS ON YOUR JOB? CONTACT US FOR PRIVATE ACCESS TO THE WFG ROW CALCULATOR.
The hidden cost of narrower mats
A narrower mat can make a quote look cheaper on a per-mat basis while making the project more expensive in the field. That’s the trap. Buyers compare unit price instead of comparing cost to cover the actual right of way.
The better comparison is straightforward:
- Actual mat width, not nominal
- Mats required per mile at that actual width
- Total mats required for the full project
- Mats per truck for each option
- Number of internal ROW moves and redeployments
Once those variables are visible, a supposedly cheaper mixed hardwood mat stops looking cheap.
A better way to bid the job
If you’re building a budget for a 2-mile, 5-mile, or 10-mile right of way, the right question is not “What does this mat cost?” The right question is “How many mats do I actually need to cover the work?”
At 48 inches true versus 43 inches actual, you are buying 10% more mats than the job requires every time you choose the narrower option. On a 5-mile job, that’s 765 extra mats. On a 10-mile job, it’s 1,530. Those numbers have freight attached to every single one of them.
CONTACT US to RUN YOUR OWN NUMBERS USING THE WFG ROW CALCULATOR
Closing
A mat that is narrower than advertised is not a specification issue. It is a job-cost issue.
True 48-inch width means 1,320 mats per mile, not 1,473. That difference compounds across every mile, every move, and every redeployment on the job. Width is not a detail. It is the math that puts more money in your pocket.
FAQs
A nominal dimension is what a mat is called; a true dimension is what it actually measures. Many mixed hardwood mats sold as “48-inch” come in at 43 inches actual width. That 5-inch gap costs you roughly 10% more mats on every job.
At 43 inches actual width, you need 1,473 mats per mile versus 1,320 at true 48 inches. On a 2-mile right of way, that’s 306 extra mats. On a 10-mile job, it’s 1,530.
It matters for both. Renters still pay the cost of deploying more mats: more freight, more handling, more field moves, and more exposure to damage and delay. True size affects job economics regardless of who owns the mat.
Width and freight compound each other. Narrower mats mean more mats required per mile, and if those mats also load fewer per truck, you pay more on both ends: more units to move and fewer units per load.
Compare actual width, mats required per mile, total mat count for the project, mats per truck, and expected number of internal moves and redeployments. Price per mat alone is the wrong metric.