EXCAVATION: HAUL-OFF AND TRUCKING
Moving thousands of tons is the job. When hauling distances grow past the bid assumption, profit disappears by the load. Idle trucking subs bill $85 to $125 per hour each when the site isn't ready for them.
This page covers one problem. The full picture for this trade, including the other places margin leaks, is on the excavation operating system page.
WHERE THE MONEY GOES.
Covered in full in the quick answer above. The sourced numbers and what controls it are below.
THE SAME PROBLEM, WRITTEN UP.
If hauling distances increase unexpectedly, profits disappear quickly. Know where material will be taken before submitting your bid.
Excavating Insurance Partners estimating guide, 2026
When your trucking sub shows up and the site isn't ready, you're paying for idle trucks at $85 to $125 per hour each.
Projul, 2026
THE NUMBER TO MEASURE IT AGAINST.
Excavation contractors run about % net profit at $1M to $5M, rising to roughly 10% at $5M to $10M. The CFOS target at $1M to $5M is10%, set at 10 percent before taxes or 3.5 points better than your trade's average at your revenue, whichever is higher. A problem like this one lives in the distance between those two figures rather than in a loss on any single job.
Gross margin over the same bands runs % to 23%, against a CFOS target of 10%.
THE SYSTEM THAT FIXES THIS.
Cost codes built against the estimate, so a job can be read while it runs.
