OVERHEAD RATE FOR CONCRETE CONTRACTORS — WHAT IT SHOULD BE.
The target overhead rate for concrete contractors doing $2M–$8M is 10–14% of revenue. Most are running higher without knowing it because the rate has never been formally calculated — or owner salary is not included at market rate. Every point of gap between bid rate and real rate is unrecovered overhead coming directly out of net profit on every project.
Overhead rate is not a number you guess at or borrow from a trade association chart. It is calculated from your specific fixed costs divided by your specific revenue. The benchmark range gives you a target. Your real number tells you whether you are on track, elevated, or structurally underpricing every bid you submit.
WHAT OVERHEAD SHOULD LOOK LIKE FOR CONCRETE CONTRACTORS.
These benchmarks apply to commercial concrete subcontractors doing $1M–$12M. The range tightens as revenue scales — a $1.5M contractor may run 14–16% overhead as fixed costs are spread over a smaller revenue base, while an $8M contractor should be in the 10–12% range.
THE LINE ITEMS THAT PUSH CONCRETE OVERHEAD ABOVE TARGET.
Form System Inventory and Maintenance
Concrete contractors own significant form inventory — wall forms, column forms, deck forms, shoring systems. Maintenance, storage, and inventory management of that form system is an overhead cost. Many concrete contractors absorb form system costs informally without ever quantifying them as an overhead line item.
Finishing Equipment Maintenance
Power trowels, bull floats, laser screeds, concrete pumps — finishing equipment not charged to projects at a daily rate sits in overhead as maintenance, depreciation, and storage. A contractor with $200,000 in finishing equipment on 5-year replacement cycles has $40,000 per year in equipment overhead before maintenance.
QC and Testing Coordination
Commercial concrete work requires coordination with testing labs, cylinder break tracking, mix design management, and QC documentation. The PM or superintendent time spent on QC management not job-costed belongs in overhead — especially significant on DOT or public work with extensive QC requirements.
THE CALCULATION — ONE SITTING, REAL NUMBER.
The interactive calculator: The CFOS overhead rate calculator walks through every line item category and produces your real overhead rate in about 10 minutes. Use it at constructioncfo.net/construction-overhead-rate-calculator-interactive
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