Plan your ready-mix concrete truck dispatch intervals, pour sequence timing, batch plant coordination, and crew schedule — prevent pump starvation and truck backup on any USA residential or commercial concrete project.
Enter your project details to generate a complete truck-by-truck delivery schedule with dispatch times and ASTM C94 compliance check.
Time concrete placement begins at the jobsite. First truck should arrive 10–15 min before this.
Your effective placement rate — usually pump rate limited by truck supply.
Distance from batch plant to jobsite. Affects truck cycle time and drum time compliance.
Time for truck to discharge + drum rinse at site. Typical: 5–10 min for pump feed, up to 20 min for chute.
Time for plant to batch and load truck. Typical: 5–10 min at dedicated plant.
Account for traffic, traffic lights, school zones. Be conservative.
Expected wait before batching begins — increases on busy pour days.
Time waiting in line at site before getting to pump / chute position.
Affects ASTM C94 drum time limit. Hot mixes lose workability faster.
What time do you need the first truck arriving at your jobsite?
Time between each successive truck leaving the batch plant.
How far in advance must you call the plant? Most USA plants: 30–60 min notice.
Plant must be open when your first truck is batched. Verify Saturday hours.
Shade temperature at the jobsite during concrete placement.
Target: ACI 305 max 95°F (hot), ACI 306 min 55°F (cold weather).
Wind accelerates evaporation and plastic shrinkage cracking risk.
A concrete delivery schedule is the timing plan that coordinates the batch plant, ready-mix trucks, and the jobsite crew so that concrete arrives continuously without gaps (pump starvation) or pile-ups (truck backup and demurrage). The key variable is the truck dispatch interval — the gap in minutes between successive trucks leaving the batch plant. Set the interval too short and trucks back up at the site. Set it too long and the pump sits empty, the crew stands idle, and the pour is unnecessarily prolonged.
The optimal dispatch interval equals the time needed to discharge one full truck into the pump hopper — typically 5–10 minutes. The number of trucks required to sustain this interval continuously equals the total truck cycle time divided by the discharge interval. For example, if a truck takes 60 minutes total to batch, travel to site, discharge, return, and reload — and discharge takes 8 minutes — you need 60 ÷ 8 = approximately 7–8 trucks in continuous rotation to keep the pump running without interruption.
ASTM C94 — the U.S. standard specification for ready-mixed concrete — limits the time between initial water contact at the batch plant and complete discharge at the site to 90 minutes (or 300 drum revolutions, whichever comes first). In hot weather above 90°F ambient, this window shrinks significantly and most U.S. specifications reduce the maximum to 60–75 minutes. Concrete delivered after the 90-minute limit must be refused — it cannot legally be used on a permitted U.S. construction project. Always calculate drum time as part of your delivery schedule and build in an alert threshold of 75 minutes so you have a 15-minute margin before rejection is required.
For a typical U.S. residential driveway or house slab of 30–60 cy, schedule 3–5 trucks with a 10–15 minute dispatch interval from a plant 8–12 miles away. With a 9 cy drum and 80 cy/hr pump rate, each truck discharges in approximately 6–7 minutes. A 5-truck rotation with a 10-minute interval gives a small buffer without risking truck backup on a tight residential site with limited staging area.
Large commercial slabs over 200 cy typically require 8–12 trucks in continuous rotation with 7–10 minute dispatch intervals to sustain 100–140 cy/hr pump rates. A dedicated dispatch coordinator from the ready-mix company is recommended for pours over 150 cy. Build a 30-minute contingency buffer into your pour completion time to account for traffic delays, minor breakdowns, and placement crew pace variations on large commercial floors.
U.S. ready-mix companies allow 5–8 free minutes on-site per truck before demurrage charges begin — typically $1.50–$3.00 per minute. On a backed-up 10-truck pour where each truck waits 15 extra minutes, demurrage adds $150–$450 to your bill. Proper dispatch interval planning eliminates truck backup entirely. Never try to save money by under-ordering trucks — a pump-starved pour is far more expensive than a slightly over-staffed truck rotation.
Use the table below as a starting point for truck counts and dispatch intervals based on your pour volume and plant distance. Adjust for your specific pump output rate, road conditions, and plant capacity using the calculators above.
| Pour Volume | Recommended Trucks | Dispatch Interval | Est. Pour Time | ASTM C94 Risk | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 20 cy | 1–2 trucks | On-demand / back-to-back | 20–45 min | Low | Direct chute or small line pump — no dispatch plan needed |
| 20–50 cy | 3–4 trucks | 10–15 min | 45–90 min | Low | Typical residential — call plant 1 hr ahead |
| 50–100 cy | 4–6 trucks | 8–12 min | 1.5–2.5 hrs | Moderate | Assign site spotter; confirm plant capacity for pour window |
| 100–200 cy | 6–10 trucks | 7–10 min | 2–4 hrs | Moderate-High | Dedicated plant dispatcher recommended; stage trucks off-site |
| 200–500 cy | 10–16 trucks | 6–9 min | 4–8 hrs | High — monitor closely | Multi-plant sourcing recommended; hot-weather protocols |
| 500+ cy (Mass Pour) | 16–30+ trucks | 4–7 min | 8–16 hrs | Critical — engineer-designed schedule | Engineer-designed delivery plan; multiple batch plants; retarder required |
Call your ready-mix dispatch at least 30–60 minutes before your first truck departure time to confirm the order quantity, mix design, and truck count. Call again 15 minutes before pour start to confirm the first truck is loaded and en route. On large pours, assign one person whose only job is communication with the plant dispatcher throughout the pour — never let the superintendent lose track of truck status.
On any pour with 4+ trucks, assign a dedicated spotter at the site entrance to manage truck queuing, log each truck's ticket number and arrival time, and radio the placement crew before each truck arrives at the pump. This prevents multiple trucks arriving simultaneously, eliminates confusion over which truck is being discharged, and creates a written record of delivery times for ASTM C94 compliance documentation.
ASTM C94 requires a delivery ticket for every truck — verify that the batch time, water content, drum revolutions, and concrete temperature match your project specification before allowing discharge. Reject any truck where the batch time plus travel time exceeds 90 minutes or the drum revolution counter exceeds 300. Keep all delivery tickets on file — they are your proof of specification compliance for inspections and warranty claims.
Concrete delivery schedules must be adjusted for ambient temperature on every pour day. In hot weather above 85°F, tighten your dispatch interval by 10–15% because the concrete mix loses workability faster — a backed-up truck in hot weather risks rejection and a wasted load. In cold weather below 40°F, verify that the ready-mix plant is producing heated concrete (ACI 306R) and add 5–10 minutes of buffer between trucks to allow for slower discharge in stiff cold-weather mixes.
No concrete delivery schedule survives contact with reality perfectly — traffic delays, equipment issues, and crew pace variations are inevitable on U.S. jobsites. Build a 15–20 minute buffer into your planned pour completion time and inform the batch plant of your pour window (not just your start time). This allows the plant to hold back the final 1–2 trucks and batch them on confirmed demand rather than on a fixed time schedule — preventing over-delivery and short loads at the end of the pour.
For any U.S. commercial pour over 150 cy, identify and pre-qualify a second ready-mix plant within range before pour day. If your primary plant experiences a batch plant breakdown, computer failure, or aggregate shortage mid-pour, a pre-qualified backup plant with your mix design on file can begin dispatching within 30–45 minutes — potentially saving the pour. Notify both plants 24 hours before the pour date and confirm their available capacity for your planned pour window.
The evening before your pour, complete these steps: (1) Confirm volume, mix design, slump, and truck count with the batch plant dispatcher. (2) Verify the plant's Saturday hours and any holiday closures. (3) Check the 7-day weather forecast — confirm temperatures, humidity, and wind. (4) Confirm your pump company is scheduled, the boom pump permit is obtained, and the site is clear for the pump truck to set up. (5) Notify your finishing crew and concrete inspector of the pour start time. (6) Calculate your ASTM C94 drum time limit for expected conditions and brief your site spotter on when to reject trucks. (7) Confirm fuel in any generators, vibrators charged, and bull floats, screeds, and hand tools on-site. (8) Walk the subgrade and forms one final time to confirm grade, form height, and reinforcement placement are correct before the first truck arrives.
Authoritative standards, guides, and tools for concrete delivery planning on U.S. projects.
ASTM C94 is the foundational U.S. specification governing all ready-mix concrete deliveries — covering the 90-minute drum time limit, maximum drum revolutions, delivery ticket requirements, slump testing, and procedures for adding water on-site. Every U.S. contractor ordering ready-mix should be familiar with C94's key requirements to avoid specification violations on permitted projects.
Visit ASTM.orgACI 304R provides detailed guidance on concrete transportation and delivery planning — including truck cycle time calculations, discharge rate guidance, pump operation best practices, and cold/hot weather delivery considerations for U.S. contractors. It is the primary technical reference for creating concrete delivery schedules on engineered U.S. projects above standard residential construction.
Visit ACI.orgACI 305R (Hot Weather Concreting) and ACI 306R (Cold Weather Concreting) are the U.S. industry standard guides for adjusting concrete delivery schedules, mix designs, and placement procedures in extreme temperatures. Both reports provide tables for evaporation rate, adjusted drum time limits, required concrete temperatures at delivery, and precautionary measures that directly affect your delivery schedule and truck interval planning.
Visit ACI.org