Concrete Pumping Industry has reached an all new low! We are now pricing our pumping services in the Colorado, Arizona, and other areas cheaper than the 1970's. In these areas we operate in, we have owners that are supposedly accountants, large business operators, etc., and they continue to devastate our industry by cutting pricing in order to create cash flow, including wearing out equipment with no money to make repairs. 1970's Pricing: 2001 - 110 ft - 110.00 hr 2.00 yd 875 - 85 ft - 85.00 hr 1.75 yd Travel - Overtime - and etc. all gone!....WHY? In addition to this, we still have pump manufactures supporting people into the Pumping Rental Business when they know the chances of that company making it is 99 to 1 against it's survival....WHY? We have all seen our industry go though the largest building boom we will ever see, and our industry completely devastated the pricing of our services through flat rates, yardage rates, and etc. With no one making the money that should have been made in such an "up" economy, and so many going broke.... WHY? Would someone take the time to explain to me and other pumpers in this industry...... Why Do Business like this! Let's change! Thank you. Richard O'Brien

That sounds great im keeping my prices as high as posible.  But i have the big boys trying to make me shut my doors im not going to let it happen though. 

mmm,I will say driving around town I see more of your iron than the others.

Good Luck

Practice what you preach!

It is fitting that the prices are the same as they were in the 1970s because we are having the same discussion that we were having in the 1970s. There is no real news here. There are things that everyone knows to be true but no one does anything about them. You should always wear your seat belt, you should always brush your teeth before you go to bed and you should increase your price to your customers at a slightly higher rate than your cost of performing that service.

No one particularly likes it when the cop gets out of his vehicle, unencumbered by a seat belt, and chastises them for not wearing theirs.

When the industry started, concrete pumps were capital intensive and as such one had to be smarter than the other joe to obtain finance, so joe was finance wise. However, two things happened, joe sold off his used equipment into his own dung hole .... thus creating his own opposition who had a lower cost pump that would do the same thing, pump at the market rate. The taxi effect as I call it, a Chev or Benz taxi only gets the amount on the meter, but the vehicle costs double.

Due to the early mix and machinery problems, the pump manufacturers were such dumb bells, they made pumpers dealers. As years went on, pumps were produced at lower costs, more reliable etc and as the industry matured finance was easier for the joes.

In 1970 we built truck mounted line pumps, 90 cubic per hour that sold for $ 27k with the truck content $ 6k. In 1980 we sold 40 cubic per hour pumps on smaller trucks at $30k with a truck content $9k. 2009 a 70 cubic pump sells for $ 150k truck content $ 60k. We build pumps for less, but have a lot of opposition and truck manufacturers are in a cartel.

A $90k 42 meter Reed ex Richie Bros Las Vegas 2009, can pump at the same rate as a new Huncrete at $500k (subject to finance???) with this in mind, your question is answered. Used pumps after 5 years should be melted down, pumpers be pumpers and dealer just dealers. Manufacturers have the same problem, the blue Huncrete man fostered all the Korean and Chinese pumps selling his technology.