Concrete Pump Truck Hour Cost Calculator
Regional concrete pump truck hour ranges are estimates derived from industry cost patterns — no government database publishes state-level ready-mix prices. Verified sources for concrete pump truck hour research: BLS PPI (national baseline), USGS Cement Summary (PDF), NRMCA. Always get local quotes before ordering concrete pump truck hour.
How this is calculated
Formula: hours × $/hr by pump type + setup/washout fee — line pumps cheaper than boom (2026 pump-rental survey: boom ≈$230–$300/hr, line ≈$150–$220/hr, $250–$450 setup)
| Input | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Pump time on site | 4 | hr |
| Pump type | 2 | |
| Pipe run length | 2 |
Concrete Pump Truck Hour Cost by Type
Per-hr boom price by pump type for concrete pump truck hour. The calculator above defaults to Boom pump (truck-mounted); switch the selector to price any grade against your own dimensions.
| Pump type | Price per hr boom |
|---|---|
| Line pump (small pours) | $150–$220 |
| Boom pump (truck-mounted) | $230–$300 |
Labor estimate loading…
Ways to save on this project
Example project costs
Half-day concrete pump truck hour
4 hours
| Equipment/labor | $400–$800 |
| Setup/mobilization | $100–$200 |
| Total | $500–$1,000 |
Full-day concrete pump truck hour
8 hours
| Equipment/labor | $800–$1,600 |
| Setup/mobilization | $100–$200 |
| Total | $900–$1,800 |
Multi-day concrete pump truck hour
16 hours
| Equipment/labor | $1,600–$3,200 |
| Setup/mobilization | $100–$200 |
| Total | $1,700–$3,400 |
| Pump Type | Cost/Hour | Best For | Output (yd³/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trailer line pump | $125–$225 | Slabs, footers, ground-level pours within 200 ft | 25–70 |
| 28–32m boom pump | $240–$320 | Residential 2-story, tight-access backyard pours | 80–150 |
| 38–42m boom pump | $280–$380 | Commercial 3–4 story, mid-rise construction | 120–180 |
| 52m+ boom pump | $350–$420 | High-rise cores, bridge decks, extended horizontal reach | 180–220 |
| Stationary pump + pipeline | $150–$250 | Tunnel work, long-distance horizontal pumping over 500 ft | 40–100 |
Pro tips
32-meter boom: $240–$320/hour. 52-meter unit: $350–$420/hour. That $80–$100/hour gap compounds across a 4–5 hour minimum — right-sizing saves $400–$600 on the same pour day. Measure your farthest pour point from the nearest truck-accessible staging area, add 3 meters for hose whip clearance. Residential foundation 18 meters from the street? Covers cleanly with a 28-meter unit at $50–$80/hour less than the next size up. One gotcha: published reach is tip-to-turret, not tip-to-hopper discharge — a difference of 3–5 feet of usable horizontal range.
Most pump operators quote an hourly rate prominently and bury a $3–$7 per cubic yard surcharge in the fine print. On a 40-yard residential pour that adds $120–$280 on top of time-based billing. Guarantee 50+ yards in a single call-out and many operators will waive or halve the yardage fee since their fixed mobilization cost is already covered. On pours under 20 yards the flat-mobilization model ($150–$350 flat, zero per-yard) almost always wins; above 60 yards a negotiated $2/yard cap typically beats both alternatives. Overtime fees separately — the 5-line itemization exposes $200–$500 in hidden charges that a single lump-sum quote conceals.
Port-to-port billing starts the moment the pump leaves the yard — which can save $200–$600 over the life of the installation. If the pump arrives and the first mixer is stuck in traffic, you pay $200–$420/hour for a machine sitting idle. Then schedule the pump truck 30 minutes after that confirmed departure to eliminate 0.5–1.5 hours of dead billing worth $100–$630. Collapsing setup overlap to under 10 minutes. On a 3-truck pour with 10-yard loads.
Planning the next phase? Our Soffit Calculator can help you estimate.
Stormwater violations for improper concrete washout carry fines starting at $1,000 per incident. Most pump operators tack on a $75–$200 washout fee if they wash out on your site without lined containment. Plan this before pour day, not during. Easy fix: rent a portable washout container for $50–$100/day and position it within 50 feet of the pump's final position. This also avoids a $200–$600 return-trip charge if the driver must leave and come back. Confirm the washout fee structure when booking. DIY alternative: a 6-mil poly-lined pit (10x10x1 ft) costs $20–$40 and holds 600+ gallons of rinse water from a typical pump cleanout.
Hidden costs
A trailer-mounted line pump rents at $130–$190/hour with a 4-hour minimum. A boom truck runs $200–$300/hour also with a multi-hour minimum, so even a 90-minute backyard pour bills at 4 hours. Setup and mandatory washout add 30–60 minutes billed at the hourly rate. This means a small pour can land a 4.5–5 hour ticket worth $585–$950 for the trailer pump or far more for the boom. Always confirm the minimum, the setup charge, and whether washout ($75–$200) is billed separately before booking. The minimum is often the larger half of the bill on small jobs.
Before a single yard of structural concrete moves through the line. The pump must be primed with 0.25–0.5 cubic yards of grout slurry that lubricates the pipe and cannot go into the forms. At ready-mix pricing of $125–$185/yd³ (BLS PPI PCU327320327320), the primer is a $30–$95 line item that produces nothing usable. On a long boom reach the priming volume climbs because there is more pipe to coat. Order your ready-mix with 0.25–0.5 cubic yards added for the primer. You do not come up short in the forms after the line is charged. A chute or wheelbarrow pour never incurs this cost.
Budgeting for the full project? Estimate costs with our Galvanized Pipe Replacement Cost Calculator.
Need to price this step too? Use our Concrete Mix Design Calculator to get an accurate estimate.
Pump companies bill standby at the full or near-full hourly rate ($130–$300/hour depending on pump type) when their truck and operator wait for late concrete or an unready crew. A mixer running 45 minutes behind schedule bills $98–$225 in pure standby before a single yard is pumped. Booking the pump and concrete delivery through one coordinator, or scheduling concrete to arrive 15 minutes before the pump is ready, eliminates this waste. Standby is the single line item most likely to blow up an otherwise tight pump budget.
Boom pumps charge by reach class. A 42-meter or 52-meter boom needed behind a two-story home costs $50–$120/hour more than a 28-meter boom over a single story. Tight urban lots may also require street-occupancy permits ($50–$200) if the truck must set up in the road. On soft soil you rent steel outrigger pads to prevent tip hazard. Discovering on pour day that your 28-meter boom cannot reach the backyard forces a same-day upgrade at a premium rate. Survey the access at least 48 hours before the pour and confirm the boom class with the dispatcher.
Don’t forget to budget for related work — try our Gravel Dump Truck Calculator.
Rookie mistakes
Boom pumps cost $240–$420/hour with 4–5 hour minimums. Overkill for a ground-level slab. A trailer-mounted line pump handles the same job at $125–$225/hour with a 3-hour minimum and places a 30-by-30-foot patio slab (roughly 11 cubic yards) in under 2 hours through 100 feet of ground hose. The cost gap is enormous: $960–$2,100 for a boom versus $375–$675 for a line pump on that single pour. If every point is reachable by dragging 150 feet of 3-inch hose across flat ground, the boom is pure waste. A line pump’s 3-inch hose pushes up to 90 yd³/hour through runs under 200 feet — sufficient for 95% of residential ground-level work.
Pump providers enforce a 3–5 hour minimum billing regardless of actual pump time. A contractor booking a boom pump for an 8-yard footer that takes 45 minutes of actual pumping still pays a full 4-hour minimum of $960–$1,680. This puts the effective cost at $120–$210 per yard. Fix this by batching: combining an 8-yard footer, a 6-yard sidewalk. A 10-yard driveway approach in one 4-hour window drops the blended per-yard cost to $40–$70.
A standard 42-meter boom pump is 35–42 feet long, 8.5 feet wide, and weighs 66,000–80,000 lbs fully loaded. It needs a level outrigger footprint of roughly 28 by 30 feet. Can’t pass a 10-foot-wide gate? You still owe the minimum charge of $960–$1,680 plus mobilization. Each outrigger exerts 30,000+ lbs, requiring verified ground bearing capacity. Send photos and all access dimensions to the pump company 48 hours before the pour.
What NOT to build with concrete pump truck hour
Don't use concrete pump truck hour for: Small decorative pours under 3 cubic yards (planters, steps, countertops)
Pump truck minimum charges of $600–$1,680 put the per-yard cost above $200 for a 3-yard pour. A mixer truck chute or hand-carried buckets place 3 yards in 30 minutes for $0 in pumping fees.
Don't use concrete pump truck hour for: Shotcrete or gunite pool shell applications
Shotcrete requires a specialized gunite rig. It applies concrete at 15–20 psi through a nozzle for bond adhesion. Standard pump trucks deliver at low pressure — nowhere near the velocity needed for shotcrete bond. Booking a conventional pump truck for a pool shell wastes $1,200–$2,500 in rental on a bond that will fail.
Why Pumping Is Not a DIY Task
When a Pump Replaces a Wheelbarrow Crew
What You Provide vs What the Pump Provides
Booking and Coordination to Avoid Standby
Pump Types and Output Rates
Concrete Mix Requirements for Pumping
Site Setup and Safety Standards
Cost Drivers and Regional Variance
Ready-Mix Concrete Producer Price Index
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a concrete pump truck cost per hour?
For a 10 × 12 ft slab (4 inches thick. Roughly 1.8 cubic yards) $130–$190/Hour for a trailer-mounted line pump and $200–$300/hour for a boom truck in 2026, both with a 4-hour minimum typical. On a small residential pour the 4-hour minimum plus setup and washout matters more than the hourly rate. A 90-minute actual pour still bills 4.5–5 hours total. Confirm the minimum (typically $520–$760 for a trailer pump) and washout charge ($75–$200) before booking — not just the hourly rate.
Do I need a pump truck for a residential pour?
For a 10 × 12 ft slab (4 inches thick, roughly 1.8 cubic yards) Only when the pour is beyond the ready-mix truck's 16–18 foot chute reach. Elevated, or behind an obstacle the truck cannot approach. A driveway the truck can back up to needs no pump. A backyard slab or basement floor behind an obstacle does require a pump. Pumping a pour you could chute wastes $585–$950 on a service the site did not need.
This project often pairs with related work — estimate it with our Stained Concrete Floor Cost Calculator.
What is the minimum charge for concrete pumping?
For a 10 × 12 ft slab (4 inches thick, roughly 1.8 cubic yards), A 4-hour minimum is typical. So the floor is roughly $520–$760 for a trailer pump or $800–$1,200 for a boom truck even on a short pour, before setup and washout. The minimum exists because the pump company commits a truck and certified operator for the day regardless of how long pumping takes. A 90-minute pour and a 3.5-hour pour cost nearly the same. Consolidating pours into one booking is the only way to use the minimum efficiently and keep per-yard cost under $50–$70.
How much concrete can a pump truck move per hour?
40–80 cubic yards per hour for a boom pump and 20–50 for a trailer line pump. Far faster than a wheelbarrow crew, which is why pumping beats barrowing above about 5–8 yards. A pump places a full residential slab in under an hour while a small wheelbarrow crew risks losing the 60–90 minute initial set window. The catch is your finishing crew must scale to match because a pump delivering 50 yards per hour overwhelms a 2-person finishing team.
What size boom pump do I need to reach my backyard?
For a 10 × 12 ft slab (4 inches thick, roughly 1.8 cubic yards), A 28-meter boom clears a single-story house. A 42-meter or larger boom is needed behind a two-story home or across a wide setback, and the larger reach commands $50–$100/hour more. Discovering on pour day that a 28-meter boom cannot clear the obstacle forces a same-day upgrade at a premium. If a larger truck is even available. Match the boom class to your actual setback and structure height at least 48 hours in advance to avoid emergency surcharges.
Why does pumping waste some concrete?
The pump must be primed with 0.25–0.5 cubic yards of grout slurry that lubricates the line and cannot go into the forms. This costs $30–$95 in material (at $125–$185/yd³, BLS PPI PCU327320327320) that produces nothing usable. A longer boom reach needs 10–20% more primer volume because additional pipe length requires more slurry to coat. Order ready-mix with 0.25–0.5 cubic yards added for priming so you do not come up short in the forms. A chute or wheelbarrow pour never incurs this priming loss.
Related Calculators
Concrete Cost Calculator — price concrete alongside your concrete pump truck hour project.
→ Concrete Cost CalculatorConcrete Curing Time CalculatorBefore ordering for concrete pump truck hour — check concrete curing timeline to get timing and mix right.
→ Concrete Curing Time CalculatorConcrete Mix Design GuideConcrete pump truck hour needs the right spec — Concrete Mix Design Guide has the reference data.
→ Concrete Mix Design GuideSources
- FRED — Ready-Mix Concrete PPI (PCU327320327320) — verified 2026-06-10, updates monthly
- BLS OEWS 47-2051 Cement Masons — verified 2025-05, updates annual