Short-load fee
Also called: short load charge, small load fee, minimum load charge
A surcharge — usually $60–$150 — that a ready-mix plant adds to orders below its minimum, typically 4–6 cubic yards, to cover sending a truck out mostly empty. It's why a 2-yard patio pour costs nearly as much per yard as bagged mix.
A ready-mix truck carries 8–10 cubic yards and costs the plant about the same to send whether it’s full or not. Below a minimum load — 4, 5 or 6 yards depending on the plant — they add a flat short-load fee, and some plants set a per-yard price that rises as the order shrinks. A 2-yard order for a 12×12 slab at $190 a yard is $380 of concrete plus a $100 fee plus a fuel or environmental surcharge, so $500–$550 delivered.
For a DIY slab that’s the number to compare with bagged mix: a 12×12 needs about 80 bags of 80 lb mix at $6.50–$7, or $520–$560, plus a $70 mixer rental and a day of mixing. Ready-mix wins on effort at about the same price, but it brings the 90-minute clock. Below about 1.5 yards, bagged mix is usually cheaper and calmer; above 2, ready-mix almost always makes more sense.
Some plants also offer “short-load” or “mini-mix” trucks that carry 1–4 yards at a lower minimum, and volumetric mixers that batch on site and charge only for what’s poured. Worth a phone call for small jobs.