Truck Stop Feasibility Study for Travel Centers: Diesel, Parking and Debt Coverage

A truck stop feasibility study tests whether one travel center, at a stated cost and with a stated loan, can sell enough diesel, food, store goods and driver services to cover its expenses and repay its debt at the coverage the capital source demands. Its evidence is the corridor's truck traffic, the federal rules that make drivers stop, the fuel price record and the site itself. A sponsor's confidence is not evidence.

Three facts set the frame for most truck stop and travel center loan files:

• Diesel prices can move faster than any budget. The U.S. average retail price of on-highway diesel was $6.127 a gallon on November 9, 2026, up $2.290 from a year earlier [1]. A travel center carries that price in its inventory, its card fees and its customers' budgets.
• Federal rules decide when trucks stop. A property-carrying driver may drive 11 hours inside a 14-hour window and then needs 10 consecutive hours off duty [2]. Those limits, not road signs, set the rhythm of fueling and overnight parking along a corridor.
• Private operators hold the parking. FHWA's 2019 survey counted about 313,000 truck parking spaces nationally, of which 273,000 were at private truck stops and 40,000 at public rest areas [3]. Federal law keeps fuel sales off Interstate rest areas [4][5], so private sites at interchanges sell the fuel and supply most of the parking.

This page explains what the study must prove, the public data it can rely on, and how SBA, USDA and conventional lenders read it. It complements the gas station feasibility study, which covers car-fuel and convenience sites, and the car wash feasibility study for a truck or car wash line.

Every study ends in one of three findings: feasible as proposed; feasible with stated conditions, such as a smaller loan, a larger reserve, a phased parking build or completed tank work; or not feasible as proposed, with the changes that would make it work. The finding follows the evidence.

What is a truck stop feasibility study?

It is an independent report, written for a lender's credit file, on whether a proposed or existing truck stop or travel center can support the financing requested. USDA's guaranteed loan rule describes a feasibility study as an analysis "evaluating the economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed project" [6]. Those five tests are a sound outline for any lender, and this page follows them.

Federal statistics place truck stops in NAICS 457120, Other Gasoline Stations. The Census Bureau's definition covers establishments "generally known as gasoline stations (except those with convenience stores) or truck stops" that retail fuel alone or with repair services, parts and accessories, and food services [7]. That classification matters in two ways. It sets the SBA size standard the borrower must meet, and it puts the property in the fuel station group that triggers SBA's gas station environmental steps [8][9].

A travel center is a truck stop with a fuller program: a restaurant or several food counters, showers, laundry, a driver lounge, a large parking field, and often a scale, a tire or service shop and a truck wash. A fuel stop is the lean version, with diesel lanes and a store but little parking. The study must say which one the sponsor proposes, because the format decides which evidence carries the projection.

Exhibit 1. Truck fueling formats and what each must prove

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2022 NAICS descriptions; FHWA; 49 CFR Part 395; 16 CFR 436.5; 40 CFR 144.88 and 279.22; SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, as cited in each row.

A feasibility study is not an appraisal and not a business plan. An appraisal gives an opinion of value at a date; a business plan states what the owner intends. The study tests whether the plan works on outside evidence and states the conditions under which it does. The feasibility study versus appraisal and feasibility study versus business plan pages explain the differences. For SBA, gas stations are on the special purpose property list, and SBA requires the appraiser of such property to be "experienced in the particular industry" [9].

What does a lender need the study to prove?

A lender needs proof that the travel center's own cash flow repays the loan under the program's tests, and that nothing in the fuel tanks, the gaming floor, the supply contract or the operator's history breaks the program's rules. For an SBA start-up or construction project, projections must show debt service coverage of at least 1.15 within 2 years of funding [9]. For an SBA change of ownership, the initial acquisition test is 1.25 on history, with 10% equity [9]. USDA requires an independent feasibility study for a Business and Industry guarantee of more than $1,000,000 to a new business [6].

Exhibit 2. Lender questions and the study's answers

Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and Appendix 15; 13 CFR 121.201 and 121.301; 7 CFR Part 5001; 40 CFR Part 280; 49 CFR Part 395; FHWA; EIA, as cited in each row.

SBA can ask for a study on its own initiative. Its regulation says SBA "may require professional appraisals of the applicant's and principals' assets, a survey, or a feasibility study" [19], and the SOP lists the situations that may cause SBA to request one, including market saturation by industry type and location, a highly specialized project property, and a project size disproportionate to the community it will serve [9]. A large travel center at a rural interchange can meet all three. The lender feasibility study requirements page sets out how each regulator frames the request, and the bankable feasibility study page explains what makes a report usable in a credit file.

How large is the truck stop industry, and where is it concentrated?

The industry that includes truck stops had 14,109 establishments and $187.8 billion of sales in 2022, run by 8,986 firms with 169,689 paid employees [20]. Those totals cover all of NAICS 457120, which also includes gasoline stations without convenience stores, so the study reads them as an outer boundary for the truck stop market, not a count of travel centers. Average sales were $13.3 million per establishment, and the average firm ran 1.57 establishments (computed from [20]).

Exhibit 3. The NAICS 457120 industry at a glance

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census EC2244BASIC [20] and County Business Patterns 2023 [21]; 13 CFR 121.201 [8]. Sales per establishment calculated by FSC.

County Business Patterns still used the 2017 code, 447190, for the same industry in 2023. Its size classes show a split market. Most establishments are small: 5,800 of 13,172 had fewer than 5 employees, which is 44.0%, and 67.2% had fewer than 10 [21]. At the other end, 903 establishments had 50 or more employees, and together they employed 63,011 people, 37.4% of the industry's workforce (computed from [21]). Full-service travel centers sit in that top group, since a restaurant, a 24-hour store and a service shop need staff around the clock.

Exhibit 4. NAICS 447190 establishments by number of employees, 2023

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023, U.S. file, all legal forms of organization [21]. Shares calculated by FSC.

The state table shows where the large sites are. Sales per establishment in NAICS 457120 ranged from $4.3 million in Massachusetts and $5.2 million in New Jersey, where the code is dominated by small stations without stores, to $45.9 million in Arizona, $35.5 million in Nevada and $29.8 million in South Carolina, states with long Interstate corridors and large truck stops (computed from [20]). Texas had the most sales, at $19,324.1 million across 1,032 establishments. A study uses this table to place the subject in its state market and to check whether a sponsor's sales plan is ordinary or exceptional for the state.

Exhibit 5. Other gasoline stations and truck stops (NAICS 457120) by state, 2022

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, Sector 44-45 Retail Trade, Summary Statistics, EC2244BASIC, state rows for NAICS 457120 [20]. Sales are in millions of dollars (published in thousands); sales per establishment calculated by FSC. The code also includes gasoline stations without convenience stores and marine service stations [7].

How much diesel do trucks burn, and where is it bought?

Combination trucks, the tractor-trailers that fill truck stop lots, burned 27.1 billion gallons of fuel in 2024 while traveling 192,520 million miles [10]. FHWA counts 3,482,896 of them registered, each averaging 55,276 miles and 7,771 gallons a year, at 7.1 miles per gallon [10]. That is about 648 gallons per truck per month, or about 21.3 gallons on an average day of 151 miles (computed from [10]). Long-haul trucks run well above that average, which is why diesel lanes at a corridor site can pump far more per truck than the national mean suggests.

The Interstate carries the business. Rural and urban Interstates together carried 56.8% of combination truck miles in 2024, and rural Interstates alone carried 30.8% (computed from [10]). FHWA also notes that trucks move more than 73 percent of the nation's goods by value and more than 67 percent by weight [22]. Diesel is the transportation sector's workhorse: EIA reports transportation used about 123 million gallons of distillate a day in 2025, about 75% of all U.S. distillate consumption [23].

Exhibit 6. Combination truck travel and fuel, 2023 and 2024

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1 [10]. Changes calculated by FSC.

Two readings follow for a lender. First, truck miles fell 1.7% from 2023 to 2024 while the registered fleet grew 4.8%, so gallons per truck fell 11.8% (computed from [10]). A study that grows diesel demand from fleet counts alone would overstate it. Second, fuel economy improved from 6.7 to 7.1 miles per gallon. Each gain in efficiency means fewer gallons for the same freight miles, a slow headwind that a 10-year projection should carry.

Highway diesel by state

FHWA's motor fuel table, built from state fuel tax reports, counts 44,533.9 million gallons of highway diesel and other special fuels in 2024, with alternative fuels included in the diesel column [11]. Combination trucks used about 60.8% of that total (computed from [10][11]). Texas alone accounted for 14.6% and California for 7.1% (computed from [11]).

The table also gives each state's per-gallon diesel tax for the 2024 reporting period. Rates ranged from 8.0 cents in Alaska to 74.1 cents in Pennsylvania, on top of the federal 24.4 cents [24]. With the federal tax, a gallon in Pennsylvania carried 98.5 cents of fuel tax against 32.4 cents in Alaska (computed from [24]). Tax differences shape the pump price drivers see at a state line, and a study at a border interchange must show them.

Exhibit 7. Highway diesel use and diesel tax rates by state

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table MF-21, Motor-Fuel Use 2024 (highway use of special fuels, published in thousands of gallons) [11], and Table MF-121T, Tax Rates on Motor Fuel, 2024 reporting period [24]. Million-gallon conversion by FSC. *MF-121T sheet one lists Massachusetts at 0.2 and Utah at 0.3, figures that do not read as cents per gallon; the study confirms both with the state revenue agency. Rates shown are those in effect at the start of the reporting period plus later changes through the table date [24]; several states index their rates, so the study uses the current state notice.

How do hours-of-service rules create truck stop demand?

Federal hours-of-service rules create the demand, because they force every long-haul driver to stop at predictable intervals. Under 49 CFR 395.3, a property-carrying driver must first take 10 consecutive hours off duty, may not drive after the 14th hour following that rest, may drive no more than 11 hours in the window, and may not drive more than 8 hours without a 30-minute break [2]. On top of the daily limits sit weekly ones: 60 hours on duty in 7 days or 70 hours in 8 days, reset by 34 or more consecutive hours off duty [2].

Exhibit 8. Hours-of-service limits and what each means for a truck stop

Source: 49 CFR 395.1, 395.3 and 395.8 (revised as of October 1, 2025) [2].

The study turns those limits into geography. Inside a 14-hour window with 11 hours of driving, a driver has 3 hours for the break, fueling and other work (computed from [2]). At an assumed average of 50 miles an hour, 8 hours of driving covers about 400 miles before the required break and 11 hours covers about 550 miles before the day ends (illustration; the speed is an assumption, not a measured figure). A site that sits near those distances from a large freight origin, such as a port, an intermodal yard or a distribution cluster, catches drivers when the rules require them to stop. A site near the origin itself mainly catches drivers starting their day, who buy fuel but do not park.

Electronic logging made this pattern firmer. Since carriers had to use electronic logging devices no later than December 18, 2017, a driver cannot stretch a log to reach a favored stop [2]. When the clock runs out, the driver parks where space exists. That is why unauthorized parking on ramps and shoulders peaks between 7PM and 9AM, as state enforcement agencies reported to FHWA [3].

Is there a truck parking shortage, and can parking earn revenue?

Yes, there is a documented shortage, but most truck stops still give parking away. FHWA's 2019 survey found that 98 percent of drivers reported problems finding safe parking, and truck stop operators reported facilities running over 100 percent of capacity overnight, on weekdays and from May to October [3]. The same operators said 75 percent do not charge for parking and 79 percent do not plan to add more [3]. Congress set a national priority on the shortage in Section 1401 of MAP-21, known as Jason's Law [22].

The shortage exists partly because the public sector cannot sell fuel where it parks trucks. Federal-aid agreements for the Interstate require that a state "will not permit automotive service stations or other commercial establishments for serving motor vehicle users" on Interstate right-of-way [4]. Vending at rest areas is allowed, but "the dispensing by any means, of petroleum products or motor vehicle replacement parts shall not be allowed" [5]. A public rest area can offer a space and a restroom. Fuel, food and showers come from the private site at the interchange.

Exhibit 9. FHWA truck parking survey findings, 2019

Source: Federal Highway Administration, National Coalition on Truck Parking, results of the 2018 to 2019 Jason's Law survey (524 truck stop operators and 11,696 drivers responded) [3].

For the projection, the survey sets two limits. Parking fills, but most operators do not charge for it, so a study cannot assume every space earns a fee. Parking earns money indirectly, through the diesel, food and showers sold to drivers who stay. Where the sponsor plans paid or reserved spaces, the study treats that line as a separate revenue center with its own evidence, since only 18 percent of operators charged even for a small number of reserved spots, and three percent waived the fee for drivers who bought food or amenities [3].

Parking supply by state

FHWA's first Jason's Law report, based on a 2014 inventory, gives the only federal state-by-state count of public and private truck parking. It counted 36,222 public spaces and 272,698 private spaces at 6,376 private truck stops, so private operators supplied 88.3% of the total, or 7.5 private spaces for every public one (computed from [17]). The report also scaled spaces to truck travel, which lets a study compare the subject state with its neighbors. The private lots were mostly small: about 39 percent of facilities with parking had 1 to 24 spaces and about 40 percent had 25 to 99 [25].

Exhibit 10. Truck parking supply by state (2014 inventory)

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Jason's Law Truck Parking Survey Results and Comparative Analysis, Table 4, Results of Assessment of Key Indicators [17]. "Daily truck miles" is daily truck vehicle-miles traveled on the National Highway System as used in the report. The report notes that Hawaii has no public or private truck parking facilities. The 2019 survey updated the national totals in Exhibit 9; because this state table reflects a 2014 inventory, the study pairs it with a current count of the corridor.

How much land does truck parking need?

A truck parking field needs far more land than a car lot, and the layout sets the count. FHWA's handbook puts ideal density at 13.5 trucks per acre for drive-through herringbone slots at a 45 degree angle, against 26.7 per acre for straight back-in slots of 12 feet [26]. Many truck stops use back-in slots 10 to 12 feet wide, but herringbone slots are easier and safer for drivers, at about 50 percent of the back-in density [26].

Exhibit 11. Truck parking slot layouts and density

Source: Federal Highway Administration, Truck Parking Development Handbook (2022, updated 2026), Table 8, based on 40-slot blocks and the WB-67 design truck with a 53-foot trailer [26].

The arithmetic is direct. At 13.5 trucks per acre, 150 drive-through slots need about 11.1 acres of parking area alone; at 26.7 per acre, 150 back-in slots need about 5.6 acres (illustration computed from [26]). Fuel islands, the building, truck circulation, car parking, stormwater and setbacks come on top. The study tests the sponsor's site plan against these densities, because a parking count drawn on too little land either fails at permitting or turns into a lot that damages trucks. Drivers also walk the lot: federal rules require daily vehicle inspections, and the handbook notes that drivers often do them at truck stops [26].

Parking demand near freight land uses

Some sites earn parking demand from nearby shippers rather than the through corridor. FHWA's handbook publishes peak truck parking rates by industry, drawn from a 2021 regional study: 770.9 trucks per 1,000 employees for truck transportation facilities, 34.7 for warehousing, 14.3 for wholesale trade, 11.5 for retail and 5.0 for manufacturing [26]. A study near a distribution cluster can use county employment by industry and these rates as a cross-check on the overnight demand the sponsor expects, while stating that the rates come from one region and carry the handbook's own cautions.

How does the study estimate truck counts and diesel capture?

The study builds diesel gallons from the trucks that pass the site, not from total traffic. Total annual average daily traffic counts every car and pickup; a travel center lives on combination trucks, and the share of trucks in the traffic stream varies widely by corridor. The state transportation department's classified counts, which separate trucks from cars, are the starting point. Where the nearest count station is miles away, the study says so and shows how it carried the count to the interchange.

From the truck count, the study works down in steps, each stated as an assumption the lender can test. Direction matters: a site on one side of a divided highway serves one direction well and the other through a turn across traffic or an overpass. Timing matters: the hours-of-service rules decide which trucks passing the site are due to stop. Competition matters: a driver who fueled 60 miles back passes the next interchange whatever it offers. Fleet cards and fuel networks matter too, since carriers can direct drivers to contracted locations.

Exhibit 12. Illustrative diesel capture worksheet

Source: FSC method. Every input is an illustrative assumption, not a market figure; the study replaces each with site evidence and shows the result at lower and higher values.

The worksheet shows the lender that the 365,000-gallon result rests on four percentages. If the competitor share falls from 25% to 20%, the result falls by a fifth, and the study reports that test.

The competitor survey along the corridor

Competition for a truck stop runs along the route, not in a circle around the site. A facility 30 miles ahead in the same direction can matter more than one across the road that serves the opposite direction. The study inventories every truck fueling and parking site within a realistic driving window in each direction: diesel lanes, parking count, food offer, showers, scales, service bays, brand and fuel network, posted hours, and whether the site is under construction or planned. Public sources help locate sites: the state's UST registry shows where diesel tanks exist, state traffic and planning documents show interchange projects, and the FHWA parking inventory gives a historical baseline (Exhibit 10). The physical visit confirms what each site actually offers.

Interchange access and site layout

A loaded tractor-trailer must be able to reach the site, turn inside it, queue at the fuel island and leave without blocking the road. The study checks the interchange ramps, the distance from the ramp terminal to the driveway, turning radii, queuing room at the diesel island, and the separation of truck and car traffic. New access to an Interstate is a federal decision: the federal-aid agreement bars a state from adding "any points of access to, or exit from" an Interstate project without the Secretary's approval [4]. Once at the interchange, federal law also bars states from denying trucks "reasonable access" between the Interstate and "facilities for food, fuel, repairs, and rest" [27]. A study that depends on a new ramp or signal treats it as a condition, with its approval status and timing.

How should the study set the diesel margin and price risk?

The study sets the diesel margin from the operator's supply terms and the local price record, then tests coverage at lower margins, because the public record shows the margin moving sharply from month to month. EIA's breakdown of the diesel pump price is the best public guide. Its distribution and marketing component, which covers transport, storage, wholesale and retail costs and profit, is wider than a station margin, but its swings mirror the pressure on a station's spread [18].

In 2026 that component ranged from 55.5 cents a gallon in July to 126.0 cents in May, a swing of 70.5 cents within one year (computed from [18]). The price itself moved from $3.523 in January to $5.600 in May. Taxes stayed close to 60 cents a gallon throughout, so they took a smaller share as the price rose (computed from [18]).

Exhibit 13. Diesel price and the distribution and marketing component, January 2025 to August 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Diesel Fuel Pump Components History, release of November 10, 2026 [18]. Cents per gallon calculated by FSC as retail price times the published share.

The pattern is familiar to fuel retailers. When wholesale prices jump, as in March 2026, the retail price lags and the marketing share shrinks to 11.8%; when wholesale prices fall back, the share widens, as in May and June. A projection that uses one good month's spread as its steady margin will overstate the business. The study uses the operator's own history where it exists, the supply contract's pricing terms, and a stress case set near the low months in the public record.

Exhibit 14. On-highway diesel prices: annual averages and EIA's forecast

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, annual retail prices [28], Short-Term Energy Outlook of November 10, 2026 [29], and Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update of November 10, 2026 [1].

Higher prices change more than revenue. Where card fees are charged as a percentage of the sale, the same cents-per-gallon margin earns less after fees when diesel costs more. At an assumed card fee of 1.5%, the fee on a gallon was about 5.8 cents at the price a year earlier and about 9.2 cents at $6.127, a difference of 3.4 cents per gallon (illustration; the 1.5% rate is an assumption). Inventory and credit lines also grow with price: a full set of diesel tanks costs far more to refill at today's price than a year ago, and the study checks that working capital and the fuel supplier's credit terms cover it.

Exhibit 15. On-highway diesel price by region, week of November 9, 2026

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update, release of November 10, 2026 (prices include all taxes) [1].

Regional spreads are large: California was $2.156 above the Gulf Coast that week (computed from [1]). For a site near a state or regional boundary, those spreads, together with the tax differences in Exhibit 7, decide where carriers tell drivers to fill.

Taxes, dyed diesel and supply terms

The federal excise tax on diesel is 24.3 cents a gallon plus 0.1 cent for the leaking tank trust fund [30]. State taxes range widely (Exhibit 7). Diesel that is indelibly dyed and destined for a nontaxable use is exempt from the federal tax [31], which is why a truck stop may sell dyed diesel for trailer refrigeration units and off-road equipment from a separate dispenser. The study models dyed and clear diesel as separate lines when the sponsor plans both, since they carry different prices and taxes.

The supply contract sets the margin's floor and ceiling. A branded supply agreement is often a franchise under the Petroleum Marketing Practices Act, which limits when a franchisor may "terminate any franchise" [32], and SBA treats agreements covered by that Act as franchises subject to its franchise review [9]. The study reads the agreement's pricing formula, volume commitments, brand requirements, rebates, term and termination clauses, and states how each one affects the projection.

How is the inside store, restaurant and driver services revenue built?

Each revenue center gets its own demand driver and its own cost line, because a travel center is several businesses on one parcel. Inside sales follow transactions, not fuel dollars: a driver buying 100 gallons at $6 spends no more in the store than one buying at $4. The study therefore builds store and food sales from counts of diesel and gasoline transactions, parked trucks and car visits, multiplied by a spend per visit drawn from the operator's records or comparable sites the study can document.

Exhibit 16. Travel center revenue centers and how the study tests each

Source: FSC method; rules as cited in each row.

Food service and franchise disclosure

Where the restaurant is franchised, the franchisor's disclosure document is evidence the study can use, with care. Under the Franchise Rule, a franchisor may give financial performance information only "if there is a reasonable basis for the information, and if the information is included in the disclosure document," in Item 19 [12]. The study reads Item 19, notes which outlets it covers, and asks whether highway locations are separated from urban ones. It then builds the restaurant's sales from the site's own traffic and sets royalty, advertising and food cost from the franchise agreement, not from a percentage of fuel.

Scales, service and the weight rules behind them

Truck scales earn small fees but bring drivers in. Federal law ties Interstate funding to weight rules: states must allow 20,000 pounds on a single axle, 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle and a gross weight of at least 80,000 pounds for combinations of five axles or more, with a bridge formula for axle groups [27]. Drivers weigh before reaching enforcement points to avoid fines and costly reloading. The same statute allows up to 550 extra pounds for idle reduction equipment [27], a sign that idle reduction equipment is common enough to have its own federal weight allowance, which affects how much engine idling, and how much electrified parking, a site should plan for.

A tire and service shop is a capital-heavy side business. It needs technicians around the clock to be useful, and it adds environmental duties covered in the next section. SBA lists service centers "with pits and in-ground lifts" as special purpose property [9], which raises the 504 equity requirement for the project.

What environmental rules decide a truck stop loan?

The fuel tanks come first, but a truck stop can carry more environmental exposure than a car-fuel station when it adds service bays, larger septic loads, bulk oil or a truck wash. For SBA, any property whose NAICS code begins with 457 must start its environmental investigation with a Phase I, and the lender must follow the gas station rules in Appendix 7 [9]. Those rules reach any loan secured by property "currently used to operate a gas station or commercial fueling facility," require the Phase I to be done by an independent environmental professional, and state that "a loan may not be disbursed until full compliance is achieved" with tank and equipment testing rules [9]. On a purchase, the seller's fuel dispensing equipment must have been tested by an independent contractor within the preceding twelve months [9].

The tank rules that matter most at high volume

Federal tank rules in 40 CFR Part 280 apply to every diesel and gasoline UST. Several bite harder at a truck stop. Financial responsibility is set at $1 million per occurrence for tanks at petroleum marketing facilities or that handle more than 10,000 gallons a month [16]; every diesel-led travel center is in that group. Tanks and piping installed or replaced after April 11, 2016 must be secondarily contained with interstitial monitoring [16]. Release detection runs at least every 30 days, spill equipment and sumps are tested at least once every three years, and suspected releases go to the implementing agency within 24 hours [16]. A switch to fuel with more than 20 percent biodiesel requires notice to the agency at least 30 days ahead and proof the system is compatible [16], a point the study checks when the supply plan includes biodiesel blends.

Nationally, EPA counted 534,189 active USTs at about 190,224 facilities, and 52,859 confirmed releases still awaiting cleanup, as of March 2026 [38]. On an acquisition, the buyer's environmental inquiry must be done within one year before the purchase, with key parts updated within 180 days of it, to support the landowner liability protections [39].

Exhibit 17. Environmental rules a truck stop study checks

Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1; 40 CFR Parts 63, 112, 144, 279, 280, 312 and 1090, as cited in each row.

Three items in the table are easy to miss. A septic system serving a business with capacity for 20 or more persons a day is a Class V injection well under federal rules [35], and a travel center with showers and a restaurant serves far more than that. A service bay floor drain that discharges to the ground is a motor vehicle waste disposal well; new or converted ones have been prohibited since April 5, 2000 [13]. And a site that stores oil above ground in containers of 55 gallons or more, beyond 1,320 gallons in total, needs a spill prevention plan [40]; buried tanks covered by Part 280 are excluded from the buried capacity count [40]. The study confirms that the site plan, budget and operating costs handle each one.

Can a truck stop with gaming get an SBA or USDA loan?

It can, but only within strict limits, and the study must measure gaming income against them. SBA does not lend to businesses that obtain "more than one-third of their annual gross revenue for the prior year, including rental income, from legal gambling activities" [9], a rule set in 13 CFR 120.110(g) [19]. The SOP adds that if the purpose of the business is gambling, including skill games such as video poker, it is ineligible whatever the share [9]. USDA's guaranteed loan rule is tighter: an entity is ineligible if more than 15 percent of its annual gross revenue, "including any lease income from space or machines," comes from gambling [6].

Some states, including Illinois and Louisiana, license gaming at truck stops that meet fuel and size tests, which makes those tests part of the feasibility question. In Illinois, a licensed truck stop establishment must be at least a 3-acre facility with a convenience store and separate diesel islands, sell more than 10,000 gallons of diesel or biodiesel a month and have truck parking; a large truck stop within 3 road miles of a freeway interchange must sell more than 50,000 gallons a month [36]. The first may operate up to 6 video gaming terminals and the second up to 10 [36]. In Louisiana, a qualified truck stop must cover at least five developed contiguous acres, have parking for at least fifty tractor-trailers, onsite truck repair and at least four listed amenities, and the number of video draw poker devices it may operate depends on its average monthly fuel sales [37][42].

Exhibit 18. State truck stop gaming criteria and federal lender limits

Source: Illinois Video Gaming Act, 230 ILCS 40 [36]; Louisiana R.S. 27:416 and 27:417 [37][42]; SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and 13 CFR 120.110(g) [9][19]; 7 CFR Part 5001 [6].

The fuel tests create a loop the study must break. In Louisiana, bulk sales and transfers do not count toward the monthly average [37], so the device count rests on retail gallons the projection must support. If gaming is a large part of the sponsor's plan, the study computes the gaming share of gross revenue each year, including any machine lease income, and shows whether it stays under the lender's limit. A plan that only works with gaming above one-third cannot use SBA, and one above 15 percent cannot use USDA.

Which financing programs fit a truck stop or travel center?

SBA 7(a), SBA 504, USDA Business and Industry and conventional bank loans all finance truck stops, and the study is usually shaped to the program first named in the term sheet. The SBA loan programs, USDA loan programs and conventional loans pages give program detail; the summary below shows what each changes in the study.

Exhibit 19. Financing programs and what each asks of the study

Source: 13 CFR Part 120; SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and Appendix 15; SBA 7(a) and 504 pages; 7 CFR Part 5001; 91 FR 11272, as cited in each row.

USDA's rule asks for an independent study on any guarantee above $1,000,000 to a new business [6], and a truck stop at a rural interchange can meet the program's area test, which excludes cities and towns of more than 50,000 people [6]. The lender must give USDA "a written evaluation of the feasibility study" with its application [6]. The debt service coverage ratio page shows how each program computes coverage, and the SOP 50 10 8.1 update page covers SBA's October 2026 changes. Where a travel center includes a motel, SBA's eligibility rule for lodging applies: hotels and motels are eligible when more than 50% of the prior year's revenue comes from transients [9].

Is a high-volume travel center still a small business?

Sometimes not, on the receipts test, and the study should check early. SBA's size standard for NAICS 457120 is $33.5 million in annual receipts, and $36.5 million for 457110 stations with convenience stores [8]. Receipts generally mean total income plus cost of goods sold, and they exclude only listed items such as "taxes collected for and remitted to a taxing authority" [46]. Because diesel is sold at full retail price, fuel alone can reach the standard quickly: 465,278 gallons a month at $6.00 equals $33.5 million a year before any store sales (illustration computed from [8]).

A borrower over the receipts standard has a second path for 7(a) and 504 loans: tangible net worth of no more than $20 million and average net income after federal income taxes of no more than $6.5 million for the two preceding fiscal years, including affiliates [15]. The study does not decide size; SBA and the lender do. But it flags the issue with the receipts projection, so the lender can confirm eligibility before the credit file is built around the wrong program.

What does an acquisition study of an operating truck stop test?

An acquisition study tests whether the seller's records support the price and the loan. SBA's change of ownership rules, in Appendix 15 of the SOP, set coverage at 1.25 on history for an initial acquisition, require 10% equity, and base the lender's analysis on the three most recent year-end financial statements [9]. A Quality of Earnings report is required at $3 million and above, but not for the purchase of an owner-occupied special purpose property [9], which covers an owner-operated truck stop because gas stations are on SBA's special purpose list. Where the appraised value fully secures the loan, the lender may rely on projections to meet the coverage test [9].

Exhibit 20. Records an acquisition study ties together

Source: SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 and Appendix 15; 15 U.S.C. 2802; 7 CFR Part 5001, as cited in each row.

The study then asks what changes after the sale. A new owner may switch fuel brands, end a fleet contract, close the restaurant overnight, or lose a gaming license that was in the seller's name. Each change moves the projection away from history, and the study shows the effect on coverage.

How does the study test debt coverage under stress?

It recomputes coverage with the inputs that move most, diesel gallons and diesel margin, set below the base case, and reports the point where coverage fails. A truck stop's income statement is dominated by a large volume earning a thin spread, so a modest change in either term moves net operating income by a large share. The study also stresses inside sales, labor and interest rates, but the diesel pair usually decides the result.

The grid below uses one illustrative travel center: 300,000 diesel gallons a month at a 40-cent margin, $112,500 a month of gross profit from gasoline, the store, food and parking, $140,000 a month of operating costs and $750,000 of annual debt service. These are assumptions chosen to show the method, not market figures. Coverage is net operating income divided by debt service.

Exhibit 21. Illustrative coverage grid: diesel volume against diesel margin

Source: FSC model; all inputs are illustrative assumptions. Coverage = (12 x gallons x margin + $1,350,000 other annual gross profit - $1,680,000 annual operating costs) / $750,000 annual debt service.

In this example, an 8-cent drop in margin costs more coverage than a 10% loss of volume, and the two together take coverage below 1.00. Against EIA's record of the distribution and marketing component moving 70.5 cents within 2026 (Exhibit 13), an 8-cent cut is not an extreme case. The required diesel margin for 1.15 coverage at base volume in this example is 33.1 cents, and the margin at which coverage reaches 1.00 is 30.0 cents. The study states those break-even points for the actual project.

Coverage check calculator

The calculator below runs the same test with your own inputs. It converts diesel gallons and margin, gasoline gallons and margin, inside sales and margin, and parking and service gross profit into annual gross profit, subtracts operating costs, divides by annual debt service, and then repeats the calculation with a stress case you set. It also shows the diesel margin needed for 1.15 coverage. Its default inputs are illustrative only, and its result is not a feasibility conclusion.

Interest rates belong in the same test. The bank prime rate stood at 7.00 percent in the Federal Reserve's release of November 10, 2026 [47], and SBA caps 7(a) rates on loans above $350,000 at the base rate plus 3.0% [43], or 10.00 percent at that prime rate (computed). A variable-rate loan's coverage should be shown at the current rate and at higher rates, so the lender sees how much rate increase the project can absorb.

After closing

The study's model becomes the yardstick for the first years of operation. Lenders can compare monthly diesel gallons, margin per gallon, inside sales and parking occupancy against the projection, and act early when a line runs behind. For an SBA loan, the stabilization date in the study is the date by which projected coverage must reach 1.15 [9]. Where the lender wants it, FSC can repeat the analysis on actual results.

Which data sources does the study rely on, and what are their limits?

The study relies on public federal and state data for the market and the rules, and on the sponsor's and site's own records for the business. Each source has limits the report states where it uses the source, so the lender can see what the evidence can and cannot carry.

Exhibit 22. Data sources and their limits

Source: FSC method; publishers as cited in each row.

What does a truck stop feasibility study cost, and how long does it take?

Both depend on the scope, which FSC fixes in writing before work starts. The scope covers the five feasibility tests (economic, market, technical, financial and management) for the program the lender names, and the deliverables are a written report and a working financial model. The scope is set from the project type, the financing program, the size of the site and the number of revenue centers. A fuel stop with a store needs less than a travel center with a restaurant, a service shop, paid parking and gaming, and an acquisition needs record work a new build does not. A study that must satisfy both SBA and USDA, or a lender's own policy on top of a program rule, is scoped to meet each one. The timeline depends mostly on how quickly the site plan, supply terms and operating records arrive, and on whether a Phase I, a traffic count or a lender's appraisal must be completed first.

The report is written for the credit file, with the conclusion first and every figure cited to its source. The model is delivered in a working spreadsheet, so the lender can change an assumption and see the effect on coverage. The about page describes who prepares the work, and the asset classes page lists other property types FSC studies.

Exhibit 23. What the truck stop feasibility report contains

Source: FSC method, following the five feasibility components named in 7 CFR Part 5001 [6].

How does the study run?

It runs in five steps. First, FSC confirms the program, the lender's requirements and the documents needed. Second, it collects the site plan, the supply agreement or term sheet, any operating history and the sponsor's budget. Third, it builds the market evidence: truck counts, the corridor competitor survey, the parking inventory and the price record. Fourth, it builds and tests the model and runs the stress cases. Fifth, it writes the report, checks every figure against its source, and delivers the report and model to the lender and sponsor together. Credit officers' questions after delivery are answered in writing.

Download the evidence behind this page's exhibits (CSV, 1,060 data points with sources)