Lean times

Profits dwindle for gas-station owners even as fuel prices soar

…Longtime operators say this is the most difficult year they have ever seen. They face nearly nonexistent profits on gasoline, rapid growth in credit-card fees, and new competition from nontraditional sources of gasoline such as grocery stores.

And yet, the most vulnerable people in the business — operators who have only one station — are the fastest-growing category of ownership. Their numbers are rising because large oil companies are fleeing the retail side of the business and selling locations.


…Petrowski thinks the tight profit margins will last long enough to drive out many operators.

The key variable, he said, is having a high-traffic location.

“If you go through the map, you can almost identify which stations will go out of business,” Petrowski said.

Columbus Dispatch