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At a typical full-service travel plaza you will find:
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Convenience or retail stores (97 percent); |
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Check cashing (98 percent); |
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Private showers (89 percent); |
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Free parking (93 percent); |
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Buses welcome (82 percent); |
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Public fax machines (81 percent); |
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Restaurants or delis (77 percent); |
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Platform scales (59 percent); |
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Laundry facilities (58 percent); |
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Truck repair (50 percent); |
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Emergency road service (63 percent); |
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ATM machines (91 percent); |
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Security/local police patrol (54 percent); |
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Load boards (75 percent); |
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Postal service (53 percent); |
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Truck washes (28 percent); |
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Hotels or motels (28 percent); |
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Driver lounges (48 percent); |
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Recreational vehicle facilities (23 percent); |
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On-site fast food (51 percent); |
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Church services (38 percent); |
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Food court (15 percent); |
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Internet services (39 percent). |
Employment:
The typical travel plaza or truckstop employs 75-95 individuals. The
largest percentage work in restaurants, followed by retail/convenience
stores, administrative offices and maintenance shops.
Sales:
The average travel plaza or truckstop has annual sales of about $7.8
million (median $6.6 million).
Fuel:
NATSO member travel plazas and truckstops average 6.5 diesel islands
and 3.0 gasoline islands. A typical fuel stop sells an average of
250,000 gallons of diesel fuel per month, while a typical full service
truckstop sells an average of 1 million gallons per month. Sales of
gasoline at fuel stops average 150,000 gallons per month, while sales at
full service truckstops average 100,000 gallons.
Restaurants:
Almost all NATSO travel plazas and truckstops operate a restaurant as
part of their facility -- 90 percent operated by the facility itself,
with 10 percent either leased or franchised. The average travel plaza or
truckstop restaurant has a seating capacity of 132, with 60 percent of
the restaurants designating separate sections for professional drivers.
Truckers account for the greatest share of truckstop restaurant business
(57 percent), followed by local patrons (26 percent) and tourists (17
percent). The average meal ticket is $4.97.
Retail Operations:
The typical travel plaza or truckstop convenience store or retail
store measures 2,100 square feet. The most common retail offering is a
combined convenience and retail store (70 percent), followed by in-store
fast food, separate retail stores, and separate convenience stores.
Primary source of above statistics is NATSO's 1993
Cost of Doing Business Study, with services data as reported by NATSO
members (as of November 1999).
Sales and Transportation Statistics:
Highway Service Industry:
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The highway services industry represents approximately 55,000
facilities and employs up to 1.8 million individuals. There are
approximately 4,500 travel plazas and truckstops, employing
approximately 115,000 people. 1 |
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Travel plazas and truckstops pump three-fourths of all diesel fuel
sold at retail in the United States. |
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Leading diesel consumption states: TX (2.4b), CA (2.3b), OH (1.4b),
GA (1.2b) and PA (1.2b). 2 |
Fuel Taxes: 3
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The federal excise tax on diesel fuel is 24.4 cents per gallon.
Distribution of that amount within the Highway Trust Fund is as follows:
21.44 cents to the highway account, 2.86 cents to mass transit account,
and 0.1 cents to LUST trust fund. |
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Federal motor fuel taxes provided $18b to the Highway Trust Fund in
fiscal year 1995. |
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State motor fuel tax collections in 1997 were $27.358 billion
($24.650b in 1996). 4 |
Roads and Bridges:
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The United States has 3.9 million miles of roadway, of which 3.1
million miles are rural. The Interstate Highway System accounts for only
1.2 percent of total mileage, but carries 22.8 percent of total
travel. 5 |
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58.3 percent of major roads are in "poor" or "fair" condition, and
37.4 percent of bridges are "functionally obsolete" or "structurally
deficient." 6 |
Trucking Industry:
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20.0 cents paid on average in state fuel tax for each gallon of
diesel fuel. |
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19.84 million trucks used for business purposes (excluding
government and farm) in 1997. |
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9.5 million individuals are employed throughout the economy in jobs
that relate to trucking activity in 1996. |
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$371.99 billion in gross freight revenues (primary shipping only)
from trucking, representing 81.3% of the nation's freight bill in
1997. |
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42.5 billion gallons of fuel consumed by those trucks used for
business purposes in 1997.
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28.7 billion gallons of diesel fuel |
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13.8 billion gallons of gasoline 7 |
Convenience Store Industry:
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Total convenience store industry sales were $164.0 billion in 1998,
$156.2b in 1997, $151.9b in 1996, $144.1b in 1995, $132.2b in 1994
$121.6 b in 1993, and $112.1b in 1992. |
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77 percent of convenience stores sell gasoline - up from 68 percent
in 1992. 8 |
1. "Fueling American Prosperity," A Report of the NATSO Foundation,
1997.
2. FHWA, Monthly
Motor Fuel Reported by States, 1999.
3. FHWA, Highway Statistics, 1999.
4. FHWA, Highway Statistics, 1996.
5. TRIP, State
Highway Funding Methods,
1993.
6. FHWA, Our Nation's Highways, 1993.
7. ATA, American Trucking Trends, 1999.
8. NACS, State of the Industry Highlights, 1999.
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