Shop Rates

[katiebo]

I recall there being some discussion here regarding shop rates so I thought I would pass this along. I was at a local steel supplier yesterday picking up some plate and they listed their hourly shop rate for fabrication at $79 per hour. I thought some folks would like to know.

[Eric Carroll]

I kinda wondered about what the rate is in other parts.We do $55.00/hour per welder in the field(it goes up for tig or mig) and $50.00/hour for shop work. What do you other guys charge?

[cruizer]

Depends where you are and what the market will bare.

I've seen rates from 25/hr in a small farm community to $200/hr in a oil/gas fab shop.

I don't go out my door for under $80/hr, and I just fix welders...

[Coalsmoke]

$72 hr plus travel time both ways. This allow me to give the good customers discounts here and there without cutting too much off my bottom line. Most think it is a reasonable rate, given I travel with mostly new equipment, hold insurance, have CAC-A, etc.

[Eric Carroll]

Coal, is that us$ or can$? .

[Coalsmoke]

That's in Canadian funds, so that equals about $61/hr US funds

[Eric Carroll]

The guys who weld for the local gas co. in my area get $35.00/hour.That seems low to me.any pipeliner rig owners outside of TN. can tell me?

[Coalsmoke]

The guys who weld for the local gas co. in my area get $35.00/hour.That seems low to me.any pipeliner rig owners outside of TN. can tell me?

Is that $35 / hr profit? That's about the profit I make charging $61US per hour.

[HAWK]

The guys who weld for the local gas co. in my area get $35.00/hour.That seems low to me.any pipeliner rig owners outside of TN. can tell me?

I weld small diameter gas line for the local utilities through a contractor at $89/hour. That's in TN. Three years ago the going rate was $60/hour.

[Slaghand]

Hi there! Out here in the pucker brush we charge 37.50 plus materials/ shop rate( wire, gas, so on). On the road I charge, 50. plus materials, no travel time charged. But 1 hour min. Unless over 10 miles away one way. shop is always busy. And my truck is rolling on average. 10 hrs. a week. Doing ok for a one man shop

[MAC702]

The guys who weld for the local gas co. in my area get $35.00/hour.That seems low to me.any pipeliner rig owners outside of TN. can tell me?

When you say "weld for the local gas co." are they using the gas co.'s equipment, or their own?

[dyn88]

for light duty mobile work I charge $80 hr 1 hr min. Heavy duty is the same but add for wire (some times at $6 a pound) and gas(as much as 70 cfh). One guy over in niantic does aluminum (boat stuff) and he needs $135 per hour 2 hour min.(and he gets a fair amount of work).

[JTMcC]

The guys who weld for the local gas co. in my area get $35.00/hour.That seems low to me.any pipeliner rig owners outside of TN. can tell me?

They're working as an employee, so you're comparing apples to grapes.
A rig welder employee doesn't furnish consumables, gasses, carry liability, ect. he will work for a wage plus a rig check, say $27.00/hour on the man, $13.00/hour rig and $50.00/day sub. That package (and that's a pretty typical pipeline scale right now) would equal out to $45/hour total, as an employee. The contractor is of course billing the hand out in the vacinity of $75 to $95 per hour. Your example of $35 is low for a pipeliner but may be right for a distribution hand in your area. Distribution work is much slower paced and the inspection is less harsh, and the pay is lower.
On the other hand if you're the owner of the business you charge much more but you have all the attendant overhead to deal with.

JTMcC.

[Eric Carroll]

Sorry, I'll make it more clear. Last summer I did a job with about 4-5 guys who weld for Nashville gas thru a sub-contractor and they told me they get $21.00/hour for the rig and $14-16/for the weldor.I though that was kinda low.The pay scale in my area isnt as good for pipe as I have seen in other areas.Hawk, where in TN are you?

[admweld]

my rates

I bill at $80.00/hr plus travel time and materials i will figure wire in w/mat. if it,s a big job.Some people have accused me of being exspensive but with my overhead i probably pocket 40.00/hr which i don,t think is alot for a man willing to work thru some cold winter conditions and summer heat/sun temps in the 90,s Also wire has gone up/diesel fuel/ shielding gas /insurance etc.etc