Instantly estimate how many cubic yards your concrete crew can place per hour and per shift — based on crew size, pour type, delivery equipment, and site conditions. Plan labor, trucks & pump schedules with confidence.
Enter your crew details and site conditions to calculate hourly output, daily production & truck requirements.
Include laborers, finishers & foreman — not pump or truck operators
Standard: 8 hrs · Long shift: 10–12 hrs · Night pour: 6–8 hrs
USA 2026: Laborer $22–$35 · Finisher $28–$45 · Foreman $45–$65
Concrete crew output is the volume of concrete (measured in cubic yards) that a crew can realistically place, consolidate, and finish per hour or per shift under actual job site conditions. It is one of the most critical metrics in concrete construction scheduling and estimating — directly determining how many ready-mix trucks to order, how long a pour will take, and how many workers are needed to complete a pour without cold joints or material waste. The ACI 304R Guide for Measuring, Mixing, Transporting, and Placing Concrete provides the foundational reference for production planning on USA job sites.
Underestimating crew output leads to too many trucks arriving at once — causing concrete to wait in drums and exceed the 90-minute discharge limit (ASTM C94). Overestimating output creates cold joints between pours when fresh concrete is placed against concrete that has already begun to set. OSHA 29 CFR 1926.702 also requires that concrete placement operations be properly planned and supervised to prevent structural failures during formwork loading.
A boom pump or line pump is the fastest placement method — typical output ranges from 25–35 cy/hr for slab pours on good sites, up to 60–80 cy/hr for mass pours with a large-diameter pump. Crew size is typically 6–10 workers plus 1–2 pump operators. Most efficient for elevated slabs and large commercial slabs.
Placing concrete directly from the truck chute is the simplest method but requires trucks to maneuver close to the pour zone. Typical output is 10–18 cy/hr depending on site access and crew size. Most practical for footings, slabs-on-grade with good truck access, and wall pours with forms close to the road.
Concrete buggies and wheelbarrows are used when direct truck or pump access is restricted. Output drops significantly — typically 4–10 cy/hr depending on haul distance and crew size. The RS Means 2026 data shows buggy placement costing 2–3× more per cy in labor than pump placement for the same pour size.
Concrete crew output is calculated by starting with an equipment base rate (cubic yards per hour for the delivery method), then applying correction factors for crew size, site conditions, and efficiency. The result gives you an adjusted hourly output that can be multiplied by shift hours to find daily production — and then divided into your total pour volume to plan truck deliveries and crew scheduling.
Per ASTM C94/C94M, ready-mix concrete must be completely discharged within 90 minutes of water being added (or 300 drum revolutions, whichever comes first). Your truck interval — how often each truck should arrive — must be matched to your actual crew output. If your crew can only place 9 cy every 25 minutes, order trucks at 25-minute intervals, not every 15 minutes. Concrete waiting in hot weather (>90°F) has even shorter workability windows.
The following table provides typical concrete placement output rates for common pour types in the USA, based on RS Means 2026 labor productivity data and ACI 304R guidelines. Rates assume an 8-person crew, standard site conditions (85% efficiency), and 8-hour shift. Adjust for your crew size and site conditions using the calculator above.
| Pour Type | Equipment | Output (cy/hr) | Daily (cy/8hr shift) | Trucks/Day (9cy) | Labor Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slab on Grade | Pump | 24–32 cy/hr | 192–256 cy | 22–29 | $3.50–$5.50/cy |
| Slab on Grade | Truck Chute | 12–18 cy/hr | 96–144 cy | 11–16 | $5.00–$8.00/cy |
| Elevated Slab | Pump | 18–26 cy/hr | 144–208 cy | 16–24 | $6.00–$9.00/cy |
| Concrete Walls | Pump | 10–16 cy/hr | 80–128 cy | 9–15 | $8.00–$14.00/cy |
| Footings / Grade Beams | Truck Chute | 12–20 cy/hr | 96–160 cy | 11–18 | $4.50–$7.50/cy |
| Columns / Piers | Pump / Bucket | 6–10 cy/hr | 48–80 cy | 6–9 | $12.00–$20.00/cy |
| Mass Pour / Mat | Pump (large) | 40–80 cy/hr | 320–640 cy | 36–72 | $2.00–$4.00/cy |
| Decorative Flatwork | Pump / Chute | 6–12 cy/hr | 48–96 cy | 6–11 | $10.00–$18.00/cy |
Accurate labor cost estimating requires knowing current concrete crew wage rates for each role. The following table shows 2026 average hourly rates across the USA, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data and RS Means 2026 labor cost updates. Rates vary significantly by region — union markets like New York, Chicago, and San Francisco run 40–80% higher than non-union markets in the Southeast and Mountain West.
| Crew Role | National Average ($/hr) | Non-Union Range | Union Range | Crew Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete Laborer | $24–$30/hr | $19–$28/hr | $38–$55/hr | 3–5 per crew |
| Concrete Finisher | $30–$42/hr | $26–$38/hr | $46–$68/hr | 2–3 per crew |
| Form Setter / Carpenter | $28–$40/hr | $24–$36/hr | $48–$70/hr | 1–3 per crew |
| Pump Operator | $38–$55/hr | $32–$48/hr | $58–$80/hr | 1 per pump |
| Vibrator Operator | $24–$32/hr | $20–$28/hr | $38–$52/hr | 1–2 per crew |
| Concrete Foreman | $48–$65/hr | $40–$58/hr | $68–$95/hr | 1 per crew |
Many variables beyond crew size impact how many cubic yards a crew can realistically place per shift. Understanding these factors allows project managers to build more realistic schedules, order the right number of trucks, and avoid the two most costly pour mistakes — concrete waiting in trucks and cold joints in the structure.
Hot weather (above 90°F) shortens concrete workability, forces faster placement, and may require more finishers. Cold weather (below 40°F) slows hydration and may require heated enclosures. ACI 305R (Hot Weather) and ACI 306R (Cold Weather) both directly affect achievable crew output rates.
Crew output is limited by the rate of concrete delivery. If trucks are delayed by traffic, plant queues, or poor site access, even an efficient crew will sit idle. In urban US markets, concrete plant delivery windows of 30–45 minutes between trucks are common — plan pour schedules around local plant capacity.
Complex pours with multiple elevations, heavy rebar congestion, or tight form access significantly reduce output. A simple residential slab-on-grade may achieve 90–95% of theoretical output, while a heavily reinforced elevated transfer deck may achieve only 55–65% due to vibration time and limited placement zones.
Well-planned pours with a detailed truck schedule, assigned worker positions, pre-staged equipment, and a designated foreman consistently outperform disorganized pours by 20–40% in productivity. The ACI 304R recommends a formal pre-pour checklist and communication plan with the ready-mix supplier before every major pour.
A pump breakdown during a large pour is one of the costliest events in concrete construction — all trucks must wait or be cancelled. Always have a backup plan: know the nearest backup pump, have a chute-capable truck on standby, and verify pump condition before the pour begins. Downtime factors of 5–15% are built into standard productivity estimates.
An experienced, well-rehearsed crew with a strong foreman can outperform a less experienced crew by 30–50% on the same pour type. RS Means 2026 productivity data is based on a "average" US crew — adjust efficiency factors upward for premium crews or downward for mixed-experience crews on complex pours.
Trusted standards, guides, and references for concrete placement and crew output planning in the United States.
The American Concrete Institute's definitive guide for measuring, mixing, transporting, and placing concrete. Covers pumping, chuting, crane and bucket, and buggy placement methods with productivity guidance for all common pour types used on USA construction sites.
Visit ACIRS Means by Gordian is the leading construction cost database in the USA, publishing annual crew productivity rates, wage data, and unit cost benchmarks for all concrete work. The 2026 edition includes updated labor rates for all 50 states with regional cost multipliers for accurate local estimates.
Visit RS MeansASTM C94/C94M is the standard specification for ready-mixed concrete in the USA — governing truck capacity, mixing time, slump, discharge time limits (90 minutes), and delivery ticket requirements. Every concrete contractor and project manager should be familiar with its discharge and workability requirements for scheduling pours.
Visit ASTM