Our readers, who regularly hire concrete trucks to handle large projects, have undoubtedly wondered if they would be better off buying their own concrete truck. When you are paying $119 to $153 per yard for a 10-yard load of concrete, you have got to wonder if it is cheaper to own a truck instead of paying someone else to drive your concrete.
Contractors such as pool installers, homebuilders and driveway installers rely heavily on concrete trucks. When someone else’s timetable holds up your job and payday, it becomes extremely motivating to purchase your concrete truck.
Owning a concrete truck makes your business more resilient, increases your profit margins and increases the number of jobs you can complete in a year.
That said, when you buy a concrete mixer truck, you take on an entire world of maintenance. You need to run loads of concrete daily for it to be worth the upfront investment.
Finally, you may be looking to become a dedicated concrete contractor. How much will it cost to get your business off the ground? How much does a concrete mixer truck cost?
Different Types of Concrete Trucks
Standard Concrete Truck
Standard concrete mixing trucks should suffice for smaller projects requiring fewer cubic yards of concrete mix. They maintain the simplicity of the hand truck rotating drum and spiral paddle for mixing concrete with a typical load size of between 8 and 16 cubic yards of concrete mix. This is the average mixer truck you will find out on the road.
Volumetric Concrete Truck
An upgraded style, a volumetric concrete mixer truck will use separate compartments in the drum to measure precise mixtures of sand, gravel, stone, water and concrete, making it easy to determine how much concrete you need and reduce cement costs. They can hold up to 12 cubic yards.
Concrete Pump
A concrete pump truck is needed in addition to a mixer truck to help pour pump certain jobs such as pools and basements.
How Much Does a Concrete Truck Cost?
With such variability in style and overall workload capacity, you will wonder, “how much does a concrete mixer truck cost?”
A new 2025 Freightliner concrete mixer truck cost around $235,000, while a used cement truck can be purchased for as little as $38,000. You will usually spend at least $50,000 for a used cement truck in good condition.
Volumetric cement trucks are very attractive to contractor who needs to be in control of their concrete schedule. It has separate components for water, sand, stone, and cement and mixes the concrete on site. Sometimes they are called a mobile batch plants.
There are several advantages to a volumetric mixer. For one, you don’t mix the concrete until you are ready for it, relieving some of the pressure you normally face when you are racing the clock on pouring traditional concrete. Additionally, since the concrete is mixed on-site, you can pour multiple types of concrete from one truck.
Volumetric mixers will run about $319,000 new but can be purchased and used for about $199,000
A concrete pump truck is needed for some jobs, such as pouring a pool. Pump trucks can be purchased and used for as little as $85,000.
Due to the cost of this equipment, most people will need to finance or lease their equipment.
Costs To Consider When Buying Concrete Mixer Truck
Mixers like these come with further variations to consider. Do your research on different manufacturers to see which ones perform best and what they specialize in.
Do they typically discharge from the front or the rear? How heavy should the mixer be compared to how much mix it can hold? Reputable brands offer the best longevity and lower maintenance costs with more available replacement parts.
Chances are, you’ll want a rear-discharge concrete mixer. They’re the most common in the construction industry and are easy to work with.
Be observant of the path to the construction site and how and where you’ll be laying the concrete. You’ll need sufficient engine power to go up or down a steep grade with all that weight in the back, which will often double the overall weight!
Maintenance costs are what most people overlook. Generally, Maintenance costs run about 12% of your profitability. When you calculate that a truck is running 600 loads a year, you have to allow for up to $94,000 a year in maintenance.
These costs will likely adjust based on how many loads a year you run.
Making A Profit
As a concrete contractor, you can make a bit of a profit. Mixer truck cost, maintenance costs, concrete cost, and cost of employees all eat into that profit. When I research existing concrete companies for sale, you are looking at a 26% profit margin.
You should also charge extra for short loads for small projects that take your concrete mixer away from a busy job site. Plus, the average mixer truck is getting 3.14 mpg due to the high idling times, which should also be calculated into costs.
Concrete trucks come in different types depending on the drum size and the compartments within. Based on your need, the costs associated with buying, leasing or renting a concrete mixer truck can vary drastically. Your average concrete truck will sell for hundreds of thousands, so factor in as much as you can, such as concrete costs and alternatives like pre-mixed concrete.
Costs to plan for
- Fuel
- Maintenance
- Concrete Costs
What Is a Concrete Truck?
The average cement truck does what you expect it to do. Sand, gravel, crushed rocks and cement are combined in a drum into a mix of smooth slime that can be poured into a concrete slab. Some have special features, like a hydraulic press and specialized compartments that let you determine the measurement of materials you need at any given time. You may know them by other names:
- Concrete mixing truck
- Mixing truck
- Mixer truck
- Cement truck
- Cement mixing truck
No matter the name, all concrete mixers work in the same basic ways for the same purposes. Cement mixer trucks transport concrete measured in cubic yards of these aggregated sand, gravel, water and standard cement, ready-mixed concrete or Portland cement mixtures from the construction company to their job site.
How Does a Concrete Mixer Work?
When combined with water, sand, gravel or crushed stone, Portland cement has cohesive and adhesive properties that will eventually dry into a hardened state and produce concrete. It’s the most common cement mix used in the construction industry.
Most concrete is made at a central batch plant and then is transported via mixer truck to the job site.
Concrete mixers use rotating drums and a spiral paddle to constantly agitate and homogenize the mixture to keep the combined materials in a liquid state. Construction standards measure the concrete mix volume by dimensions of cubic yards, not cubic feet. A chute on the mixer will direct the liquid concrete mix from the drum down to the ground when ready.
A hand truck works the same for mixing small batches of concrete. They are great for any small project and hold one cubic yard of concrete mixer in the drum.
Regular and ready-mixed concrete is perishable within 90 minutes. You could order concrete or ready-mix concrete and have it delivered to the job site or bring the mix in the drum, but the distance to the destination and delays at the job site must factor into your decision. You need to have your site levelled and the forms setup before the truck arrives.
Should You Finance or Lease Your Cement Truck?
Let’s consider some great benefits and possible liabilities between financing or leasing your concrete mixer trucks. With the average concrete truck costing over a hundred grand, always hope for the absolute bargain, but keep in mind the bottom line!
Financing a Concrete Truck
Concrete mixer truck cost will factor into your decision-making at any level, but no more so than with financing to own, which can come with some hefty up-front costs which may require some collateral. You’ll own the equipment, but you risk missing out on upgrades and being saddled with the concrete mixer if the value depreciates below the cost of the loan.
Leasing a Concrete Truck
Leasing a concrete mixer truck will generally have you paying a higher monthly cost, but in a rising interest rate environment, it can make more sense to lease a truck. The downside with a truck lease is the risk of mileage overages.
Compounded with a fluctuating concrete cost, you may wonder if leasing is the best option. However, keep in mind that you’ll be able to return the concrete mixer when it’s time for an upgrade.
Financing vs. Leasing a Concrete Truck
There are significant benefits to owning and operating a construction company in possession of your own concrete trucks. Still, if their value dips below the loan cost in a short time frame, you miss out on important updates.
Buying used concrete trucks will decrease costs, but they will require more maintenance costs and downtime. Look at how well each part was maintained and ask if anything needed replacing immediately.
Leasing or renting could be a brilliant move, but you could be charged fees if there is excessive wear and tear on the vehicle, or if you’ve gone over the mileage cap of the lease.
So, How Much Does a Concrete Mixer Truck Cost?
So, how much does a concrete mixer truck cost? The price will vary based on Cement trucks that will range in the hundreds of thousands, so ensure a good mapping of the project scope to determine your needs.
If you need to fill in more than one concrete slab at a site, you may need to spring for one of the pump mixers from popular makers like Schwing or industry leaders like McNeilus.
Reducing cost and with volumetric cement trucks from Cementech may be more suitable if you have run into waste issues.
Standard cement mixer trucks significantly reduce the overall costs of purchasing a high-quality concrete truck.
A high-quality concrete truck will offer more advantages than disadvantages, though financing a concrete mixer may not be in the cards for everyone. Leasing your concrete mixer is a better alternative if you decide to upgrade with the times within a few years. Keep up your research to determine your needs and the effectiveness of your desired solutions.
Zachary Drumm
Hey! My name is Zachary Drumm! This site allows me to test new tools, piddle around in the garage, and share the insights I get from flipping cars and houses. When it comes to tools, home improvement, and being a “shade tree mechanic,” you’ve come to the right spot. If I’m not in the garage creating content, you’ll find me outside, running, canoeing, and traveling. My goal is to empower more people to be self-sufficient.