Travel centers

[sheridany]

There are interesting changes at the truck stop travel centers on the road. Warren Buffett now owns 80% of pilot flying j. BP acquired TA. What changes will there be in the future? They clearly see value in those acquisitions.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

I had missed the TA item.
Buffett bought into railroads long time ago as he saw no slow down in long term trends of transportation of goods. Now he is doubling down on that transportation sector by getting a notable player in supporting trucking.

 

[sheridany]

I am wondering if they see an opportunity beyond just truck stops which in some has already occurred by relabeling them as travel centers. They must see a lot more upside to get foot traffic by having Ev charging, rv spots with power (hopefully), better food etc Still cater to the professional driver at the locations but include amenities for road travelers. Hope that happens.

 

[Neal]

Fuel seems to be a highly profitable commodity, no?

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Currently truck stops have the fuel profit and the large parking area encourages trucks to stay here for their mandatory sleep/rest break. During this break they can use the paid shower, dining, laundry, convenience store, truck accessories, truck PM work, etc.

In the future, if they put spaces in for car charging, which of course the car drivers will have time to kill, they can leverage some of the existing amenities but need to expand to be a little more family oriented.

Question: based on the space required for car charging (or RV charging), will the revenue per sq ft of parking space be better ROI for OTR trucks or the cars/RVs?

 

[sheridany]

From a source in the industry. I don’t know how accurate it is.

The amount of money a truck stop makes on fuel sales can vary depending on a variety of factors such as the location of the truck stop, the size of the operation, the prices of fuel, and the demand for fuel at the time.

However, according to industry reports, the average profit margin for a truck stop on fuel sales is typically around 15 to 20 cents per gallon. So, for example, if a truck stop sells 100,000 gallons of fuel in a month, the profit could be around $15,000 to $20,000.

 

[Fueco]

From a source in the industry. I don’t know how accurate it is.

The amount of money a truck stop makes on fuel sales can vary depending on a variety of factors such as the location of the truck stop, the size of the operation, the prices of fuel, and the demand for fuel at the time.

However, according to industry reports, the average profit margin for a truck stop on fuel sales is typically around 15 to 20 cents per gallon. So, for example, if a truck stop sells 100,000 gallons of fuel in a month, the profit could be around $15,000 to $20,000.

I’d think that the truck stops make massively more money on food, beverages and services. How many times have you stopped for gas and a potty break and walked out with 20 ounce sodas for everyone and a bag of chips?

So yeah, they might make $3 profit on my fill up, and maybe $5-8 on the other stuff I buy (big family over here).