Why this calc exists
Two questions every RMC plant owner or contractor asks: 'what should I charge per m³?' and 'how many m³ per hour can my plant produce?' The first is a BOM cost arithmetic; the second is a production-rate accounting. They look unrelated but both drive the bottom line — charge too little and you lose money; produce too few m³ and you miss delivery slots.
IS 10262:2019 Annex A gives informative worked examples of typical mix proportions per m³ for M20–M60 — cement, water, sand, CA, w/c. These are not mix-designs (a project-specific mix from a designer supersedes them) but they're a defensible template for cost estimation. The production-rate side is standard cycle-time × fleet-utilisation accounting. The RMC rate calculator handles both, with editable inputs for local unit costs.
Code references (with provenance)
- IS 10262:2019 — Concrete mix proportioning guidelines. Annex A gives informative worked examples (M20–M60 typical mixes).
- IS 456 Cl 9 — Mix design requirements (nominal mix M20 or below; design mix above).
- IS 4926:2003 — Ready-mixed concrete — code of practice (delivery, sampling, transport time limits).
- GST Schedule II — RMC treated as a composite supply, 18 % GST on delivered price (consult your CA for current rate and ITC treatment).
Worked: M30, Pune, 25 km delivery, 30 % fly ash
BOM: cement 280 kg, fly ash 120 kg, water 160 L, sand 650 kg, CA 1240 kg, admixture 4 kg (1 %).
Material cost (₹/kg): 280×7 + 120×2.5 + 650×1.2 + 1240×1.4 + 4×120 + 160×0.05 = 1960 + 300 + 780 + 1736 + 480 + 8 = ₹5,264/m³ subtotal.
Freight: 25 km × ₹4/km/m³ = ₹100.
Wastage × Profit: ₹5,264 × 1.05 × 1.10 = ₹6,080. + ₹100 = ₹6,180 ex-plant.
GST 18 %: ₹6,180 × 1.18 = ₹7,292 / m³ delivered.
Plant (Tab B): 1 m³ mixer, 90 s cycle, 6 trucks × 10-min round trip → mixer 40 batches/hr vs trucks 36/hr → truck-bound at 36 m³/hr.
Field notes (what trips people up)
- IS 10262 Annex A is informative. The figures are median crushed-aggregate mixes — MSA 20 mm, 75–100 mm slump, no admixture unless noted. For a specific project, the designer-of-record's mix design supersedes these.
- Fly ash is cheaper than cement but slower strength gain. The cost saving is real; the schedule impact (longer formwork striking time, later prestress release) is the trade-off. IS 456 Cl 5.2 governs mineral admixtures.
- GST on RMC is composite. 18 % on the all-in delivered price (Schedule II entry for RMC). Cement input credit (ITC) is generally not available since RMC is the composite supply, but consult your CA for current rules.
- Mixer-vs-truck bottleneck. The Tab B output tells you which is the limit. Truck-bound → add trucks (cheap). Mixer-bound → need a second mixer or shorter cycle (expensive).
Worked example
Site: small RMC plant in Pune, 1 m³ mixer, 90 s cycle, 6 trucks.
Max output: 36 m³/hr, 288 m³/shift, 7,200 m³/month.
Avg price: ₹7,000/m³ delivered.
Monthly revenue: 7,200 × 7,000 = ₹5.04 cr.
Variable cost: ~₹5,500/m³ (material + freight). Margin: ₹1,500/m³ ≈ 21 %.
FAQ
Why IS 10262 Annex A and not Table 9?
Table 9 is for nominal mix (M5–M20) only. For design mix (M25 and above), IS 10262 governs. Annex A gives typical mix proportions per m³ for cost estimation.
Can I claim ITC on cement?
Generally no, because RMC is a composite supply under GST — the input cement is part of the output composite supply. Consult your CA for current treatment.
What's the typical fleet size for a 1 m³ mixer plant?
Rule of thumb: 5–8 trucks per plant for 25–30 km delivery radius. The bottleneck analysis confirms when more trucks are needed (truck-bound) vs when a second mixer is needed (mixer-bound).
Related reading & tools
- ../calculators/rmc-rate.html — RMC Rate calculator
- calc-trial-mix-batch-significance.html — Trial Mix Batch Significance
- mix-design-masterclass-is10262.html — Mix Design Masterclass — IS 10262