Been crunching numbers on some of our jobs and seems all though we have 4-5 hour minimums on all of our pumps seems as though our small yardage pours are still coming in under where we need to be,we have some of the highest rates in our area,now I have been doing this a while and was taught you have to take the bad with the good,my owner does not see it this way , he wants profit on every job so my question is do you put a dollar amount,say $900 min. on any job you do? or do u take the good with the bad ?

Our booms are in the black it seems its our linepump we have issues with, the little 3-8 yard pours are where questions are arising ,do u turn these down and let the pump sit or do you take them and up the ante ?

If you have min' hours on your trailer pumps how could they not be making a + number?

You have to take the good with the bad, maybe make anything less than a full load wait til mid morning or afternoon work if you have a full schedule. Or not knowing your rates you start your minimum from the time you leave yard thru cleanup that will help your billable hours.

When does a fleet  realize it has been selling  pumps below market value?

They know before hand they just try and do volume to make up for it and hopefully last out the other guys then becoming the only company in the market place.....

Pudg, I'm a little confused on your question. you mention in one post, you are in the black on your booms,then you mention your line pumps are struggling with small yardage jobs. Am I not understanding you correctly? Suggestion: don't mix the two together (line/boom) while crunching numbers as you call it.Your numbers will never come out right.Keep the two seperated. use the "utilization factor only" on the booms and throw the linepump numbers out the window. Travel time is a key factor in minimum charges are you traveling too far out for these small pours.Labor will kill you everytime,not to mention the FUEL. If your pumping 3-8 yds as you mention with a line pump your going to tred water and just break even depending on your overhead. In the past I also noticed you were hiring operators, why? Utilize the people you have currently, double up your pours, Maybe it's diffrent out there.Around here the contractors work with me.Allowing me to utilize my pumps and personel.

our booms profit when they go out there good, its just these small jobs with the linepumps its fine if thats not the only job you have for the day,but at times theres only one job and it maybe a single digit yardage pour we get 135 per hour 2.75 per yard with a four hour minimum 1 hour travel I think its good but the owner says its not making money on these little pours I say you take the good with the bad

N2,

I am on a skeleton crew 6 pumps 6 men including myself I dont know see how I can cut many more corners than that

how can you not make money on $135.00 per hour for line pump. operator can't cost more than $55.00 per hour so that leaves you with $80.00 per hour overhead. seems like enough. not to make big money but to at least break even. i must be missing something.

pudg

There is something wrong.

At those prices and min' + trav

WHO CARES how many yards you pump?

There is something you are not being told.

What is the COST of a trailer pump?

Perhaps the trailer pumps are no longer donating enough money to 'shore up' the debt service on the booms.......... but stand alone they are doing better [income for $ invested]  than your boom pumps.

a short truck load cost is expendsive to the job so a customer with manpower might elect to wheel it but i will do it cheeper to provide service, thats why i bought a ball pump thr first time around.

Cost of living must be way different down there pudg. If you are getting $ 135/hr for the tp with a 4 hour minimum and $ 2.75/yd and you charge 1 hour travel. Yal should be in high cotton! If I told a contractor here he had to pay that for a line pump, he would flip out!! Now you might be able to get away with it for a homeowner, but wow! Yeah something doesn't sound right to me with your boss, if he says he's not making money. 

yeah his cost of living is whats high,we get paid very well for our services I think hes in panic mode due to the economy,135 and 2.75 I thought would slow us down with the pump but its kept rite on going  we get more for the linepump than most of our competitors get for a 32 meter so if hes not making profit on those rates he needs to shut the doors and find another business those rates are for 2 men on the pump but when theres just 1 they still pay 135,down here theres not that many linepumps so you can get your rates like I said I think hes worried about the economy 

keep the same min time and hour with travel and raise the yardage cost to at least $3.00 yard

   I have never heard an owner say that he is making a ton of money,although if this business is new to him I am sure the notes on all of his pumps are quite high.I look at it this way,his business,his neck..........

Yeah, I definitely believe in keeping the minimums and hourly charges. The minute you give a flat rate for a job, you can count on that job taking all day long! I miss the old days when each pump did 5 jobs a day and were only on each site for approx. 2 to 3 hours each and we still got 5 minimums. Now thats how you make money!(or at least someone makes money) LOL

what is .25 cents a yard gonna do when the jobs in question is only 4-8 yds

1-2 Usd ! ;-)

Small trailer pumps are all about rental price per hour. Think about all those small pours that take twice as long as they should. And clean-up is ALWAYS charged at pump rate. Set it up your self, wash everything clean on the job, organize your system back onto your truck and smile as you drive away.

1-2 USD is 1-2 USD you did not have before thats 1-2 dollars closer to staying in business if you arnt making money

Pudg, I think earning $1-2 dollars per pour is a "GREAT" idea.just think, every week you should be able to buy at least "A" gasket.Or better yet, you would be able to buy "1/4 of a gallon" of fuel to help off-set the high fuel cost.