CONCRETE CONTRACTOR
FINANCIAL
BENCHMARKS.
Healthy commercial concrete contractors run 24 to 32 percent gross profit, 12 percent net profit, 10 to 14 percent overhead, and 2.0+ working capital ratio. Most run 12 to 18 percent gross and 2 to 6 percent net because labor per yard is not tracked, pour cycles create unpriced cash gaps, and ready-mix procurement is not optimized. The benchmarks below cover all 5 trades in the Concrete and Masonry cluster: concrete (structural), concrete flatwork, masonry, structural steel, and precast.
These numbers come from real client outcomes. A $4.9M concrete contractor on this site moved from 3.3 percent net to 22.7 percent net in one year on the same revenue. The benchmarks are the target. CONTROL is the system that gets you there.
| TRADE | TYPICAL GP | HEALTHY GP | TYPICAL NP | HEALTHY NP | REAL OH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete (Structural) | 14-20% | 26-32% | 3-7% | 11-14% | 22-30% |
| Concrete Flatwork | 12-18% | 22-28% | 2-6% | 10-13% | 24-32% |
| Masonry | 14-22% | 24-30% | 3-6% | 10-13% | 22-32% |
| Structural Steel | 16-24% | 26-34% | 4-8% | 12-15% | 18-26% |
| Precast Concrete | 18-25% | 26-34% | 4-8% | 12-15% | 18-25% |
Typical means what most contractors actually run. Healthy means what the CONTROL system produces. Real overhead includes all indirect costs and owner compensation at market.
Labor Per Yard Is Not Tracked
The single biggest variable in concrete work is labor productivity. Without per-yard or per-square-foot tracking, labor overruns hide until the job closes. By then it is too late to adjust pricing on the next ten bids using the same wrong assumptions.
Pour Cycles Create Cash Gaps
Forming, rebar, embeds happen before the pour. Stripping, patching, finish happen after. Each phase has its own cost outflow and revenue timing. Without SOV structuring around pour cycles, contractors float cash between phases.
Ready-Mix Procurement Is Not Optimized
Ready-mix vendors want 30-day terms. GCs pay 45 to 60 days. Without stored materials billing on application one (where appropriate), the float gap compounds across every pour.
Overhead Allocation Is Wrong
Forming systems, finishing equipment, and pump trucks often sit in overhead when they should be allocated to specific projects. This inflates apparent overhead and undervalues equipment cost recovery in estimates.
- Chapter 1, Job Cost Structure: per-pour, per-phase cost tracking so labor productivity is visible in real time
- Chapter 2, Equipment Cost Basis: forming systems, pumps, finishing equipment properly cost-based and billed to projects
- Chapter 3, Overhead Calculation: real overhead number with proper allocation between project costs and indirect costs
- Chapter 4, Estimating Alignment: SOV that mirrors pour cycles so cash flow follows work flow
- Chapter 7, Monthly Cadence: labor per yard variance reports, pour-by-pour profitability, cost-to-complete on every active project
The concrete case study went from $161K to $1,112,000 net profit in one year on the same revenue base. 3.3 percent net to 22.7 percent net. Same crews. Same plants. Same work. Read it at /concrete-contractor-margin-recovery-case-study.
WANT IT INSTALLED FOR YOU?
CONTROL teaches you how to build the system yourself. The Construction CFO, a service of Sulphur Prairie Management, builds and runs it for you. Same system. Same outcomes. From $1,900 per month. 60-day onboarding.
Healthy gross profit for a commercial concrete contractor is 24 to 32 percent. Most run 12 to 18 percent because labor per yard is not tracked, pour cycle billing gaps are not priced in, and ready-mix procurement timing is not optimized. The concrete case study on this site moved from 5 percent to a healthy range by installing proper job costing alone.
Structural concrete (walls, columns, footings) typically runs higher margins than flatwork because the work is more specialized, the equipment requirements are higher, and the complexity barrier limits competition. Healthy structural margins run 26 to 32 percent. Flatwork runs 22 to 28 percent. Both should hit similar net profit (10 to 13 percent) because overhead allocation works the same way.
Most masonry contractors estimate overhead at 10 percent. Real overhead is typically 22 to 32 percent depending on scaffolding intensity, material storage, and crew structure. Masonry has unique overhead patterns because scaffold equipment is high-value, often shared across projects, and rarely allocated properly in standard accounting setups.
Yes. These benchmarks reflect commercial concrete and masonry work. Typically 70%+ commercial progress-payment billing. Residential concrete and flatwork has different margin patterns, different cash flow timing, and different overhead structure. The benchmarks do not translate directly.
Three reasons. Labor per yard or per square foot is not tracked in real time. So labor overruns are invisible until job close. Overhead is undercalculated. So bids price too low. And pour cycle billing creates cash gaps that get filled with credit instead of priced into the SOV. The CONTROL system fixes all three.
