What is a short-load fee on concrete?
The line item that turns a 2-yard shed slab into a full-truck bill — what it is, what plants charge, and the two ways to avoid paying it.
Short-load fee — the quick facts
- What it is
- surcharge for orders under the plant's minimum truck load
- Typical surcharge
- +$53 per load under 10 yd³ (HomeGuide, 2026)
- Typical plant minimum
- 3–5 yd³ delivered; some decline smaller orders
- Why it exists
- a drum truck costs about the same to send full or nearly empty
- How to avoid it
- metered volumetric truck: mixes on site, bills only yards poured
- ShortLoad minimum
- 1 yd³, no fee — typical $150–$220/yd³ in Florida
Why ready-mix plants charge it
A ready-mix drum truck is loaded at the plant and has to arrive within about 90 minutes, whatever it carries. The driver, fuel, wash-out and truck time are the same for 2 yards as for 10, so plants price the full load and recover the difference on small orders with a short-load fee — a flat amount per delivery, a per-yard penalty for each yard under the minimum, or both. Below a certain size many plants simply decline the job.
For homeowners that is exactly the range most projects fall in: a 10 × 12 shed slab at 4 inches is about 1.5 yards, a run of fence posts under a yard, a driveway apron 2 to 3.
What the fee looks like in published price guides
National cost guides quantify the surcharge; local plants publish their own schedules, so treat these as the shape of the fee rather than your quote:
| Line item | Typical amount | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-mix base price (delivered ≤20 mi) | $119–$147 per yd³ | HomeGuide, 2026 guide (updated Jan 2026) |
| Short-load surcharge, order under 10 yd³ | +$53 per load | HomeGuide, 2026 guide |
| On-site mixing fee, 6–6.75 yd³ order | +$60 per load | HomeGuide, 2026 guide |
| On-site mixing fee, 5–5.75 yd³ order | +$70 per load | HomeGuide, 2026 guide |
| Delivery beyond 20 miles | +$9.50 per mile | HomeGuide, 2026 guide |
| US average ready-mix price, 2025 | $179.95 per yd³ ($160–$195) | ConcreteNetwork / Concrete Financial Insights (page updated Jul 2026) |
| ShortLoad metered small load, Florida | $150–$220 per yd³ all-in, 1 yd³ minimum, no fee | ShortLoad price index (this site) |
Third-party figures are quoted from the sources named, as published on the dates shown; they are national references, not Florida quotes. ShortLoad figures come from our county price index.
Two ways to avoid the fee
-
Order a metered (volumetric) load
The truck carries sand, stone, cement and water separately and mixes on site, so the operator bills the yards actually poured, to the quarter yard. The minimum drops to 1 yard and the price is one all-in number per yard, delivery included — no drum to pay for, no fee. This is how every ShortLoad quote works.
-
Combine pours or go to bags
Pouring the slab and the footings on the same day, or sharing a truck with a neighbor, can lift an order over a plant's minimum. Below about half a yard, premixed bags are the right tool — the bags-to-yards table shows where the math flips.
Short-load pricing in Florida
Across Florida, metered small loads typically run $150–$220 per cubic yard delivered, with no short-load fee — the range on our county price index and on every city page under Florida coverage. Size the pour with a calculator, enter your ZIP, and the quote you see is the whole bill.
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Frequently asked questions
What is a short-load fee?
It is the surcharge a ready-mix concrete plant adds when your order is smaller than the load its truck is built to carry. A drum mixer costs the plant roughly the same to dispatch whether it carries 2 yards or 10, so orders under the plant minimum pay a flat fee, a per-yard penalty, or both.
How much is a short-load fee?
Published cost guides put the surcharge at about $53 per load for orders under 10 cubic yards, with separate on-site mixing fees of $60–$70 per load for 5- to 7-yard orders (HomeGuide, 2026). Local plants set their own schedules, and some simply refuse orders under 3–5 yards.
What is the minimum concrete order from a ready-mix plant?
Most drum-truck plants quote a minimum of 3 to 5 cubic yards for delivery; below that they either decline or apply the short-load fee. Metered volumetric trucks mix on site and bill only what is poured, so the minimum drops to 1 cubic yard with no fee.
Is it cheaper to mix bags for a small pour?
Below roughly half a yard, bags win. A full yard is forty-five 80-lb bags mixed by hand, and near that volume a metered load is usually cheaper once you count the mixer rental and your day — see the bags-to-yards comparison for the math.
How do metered trucks avoid the short-load fee?
A volumetric (metered) truck carries dry materials and water separately and mixes exactly the volume you need at the site, to the quarter yard. There is no half-empty drum to pay for, so the operator can quote one all-in price per yard from 1 yard up. That is the model every ShortLoad quote uses.
Do ShortLoad prices include a short-load fee?
No. Every ShortLoad price is a delivered, metered price per cubic yard — in Florida typically $150–$220/yd³ — with a 1 yd³ minimum and no short-load, small-order or minimum-load fee.