A short load fee is what the plant charges when you order less than a full truck. A full truck holds about 10 yards. Most plants set a minimum somewhere around 3 to 5 yards, and under that you pay a surcharge.
Every plant sets this up differently, so the numbers in this article are examples, not rules. Call your plant and ask what theirs are. That one phone call is most of what this article is trying to get you to do.
Why plants charge it
It is not a penalty, even though it feels like one.
That truck costs the plant the same whether it leaves full or leaves with three yards in the drum. Same driver, same fuel, same round trip, same wash out at the end. A truck that hauls 3 yards instead of 10 still ties up equipment for the same hour. The fee is the plant getting some of that back.
Most plants are reasonable about it and will tell you exactly where their line is if you ask. The people at the counter deal with this all day and they would rather explain it up front than argue about an invoice later.
The fee is a cliff, not a hill
Concrete pricing feels like it should be smooth. More yards, more money, straight line. This one is not like that.
Say your plant's minimum is 4 yards and the fee is $100. Then 3.9 yards and 4 yards are two different bills for the same pour. Same truck, same driver, same morning. One of them costs a hundred dollars more.
Which means your takeoff is not only telling you how much concrete to order. It is telling you which side of that line you land on. Figure a patio as "call it three and a half yards" and you do not actually know whether the job carries a fee. You find out when the invoice shows up.
Two patios, opposite answers
Here is the math almost nobody runs. Assume a 4 yard minimum, a $100 fee, and concrete at $150 a yard. Swap in your own numbers, the shape of the answer stays the same.
A 12 by 14 patio at 4 inches
That is 168 square feet, about 2.1 yards, call it 2.3 with waste. You are 1.7 yards under the minimum. Buying up to 4 means paying for 1.7 yards you will never pour, which is $255 to avoid a $100 fee. Pay the fee.
A 16 by 18 patio, same thickness
288 square feet, about 3.6 yards, call it 3.9 with waste. Now you are a tenth of a yard under. Buying up costs about $15 to avoid the same $100 fee. Buy the concrete.
Same plant, same fee, opposite call. The only thing that changed was how close you were to the line, and you cannot know that if your yardage is a guess.
The other charges
Some plants add more to a small order. Some add nothing but the short load fee. Ask yours which it is. What exists out there:
Wait time. You get a window to unload. Go over it and you pay for the truck to sit. This one is entirely on you and it is the easiest to avoid.
Fuel surcharge. Moves with diesel.
Saturday delivery. Costs more. Sunday costs more than that.
Distance. Most plants include delivery inside a radius and charge by the mile past it.
How to stop paying them
Combine pours. Two 2 yard jobs on the same morning are one 4 yard order. This is the biggest one on the list, and it is a scheduling problem more than an estimating problem.
Be ready when the truck shows up. Forms set, crew there, path clear, everything staged. Wait time is a fee you charge yourself for not being ready.
Bid it. If a job is going to be short, put the fee on the estimate. Customers do not blink at a delivery charge they were told about. They blink at one you tried to absorb and then had to bring up later.
The short version
Short load fees are not a scam, they are the plant covering a truck that ran half empty. Know your plant's minimum, combine small pours where you can, and know your real yardage instead of your estimated yardage.
When you cannot avoid one, put it on the bid. A fee you planned for is a line item. A fee you did not is money off your job.
Not sure which side of the minimum you are on? ConCal gives you the real yards off the shape you draw, so you know before you call the plant. Try the free calculator, or read more on pricing a concrete job and cutting concrete waste.