The truck's new livery promoting "Put a little heart in it, Build with Wood" was unveiled by Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull and National MP Michael Woodhouse.
NZ Wood chief executive Jane Arnott said the decision to launch the campaign in Dunedin was a "no-brainer" as City Forests, owned by the Dunedin City Council and therefore the city's ratepayers, was the oldest forestry company in continuous New Zealand ownership.
The Dunedin Carrying truck would travel the South Island while in the North Island two double-articulated units would be decked out similarly.
NZ Wood hopes to encourage people to consider building in wood and encourage professionals to get up to speed on modern timber design and technology which had taken giant leaps in the past 10 years.
"Excellent designs that capture the benefits of timber - this is what we want for everyone building a new home."
Mr Cull said Dunedin's forefathers had a lot of foresight when they planted in 1906 the exotic forest that provided the timber for some of Dunedin's first state houses in the 1930s.
New Zealand was particularly suited to timber construction and that had not changed, he said.
Mr Woodhouse said the Government strongly supported the forestry industry, which was New Zealand's third-largest exporter.
He praised the "tremendous imagery" on the side of the truck.
Given the significant increase in harvesting expected in the next 10 years and the rebuilding of Christchurch, there was a lot of potential for the use of wood, he said.
