SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Louisiana

Louisiana fuel loans without a cancellation figure

Two rates are missing for Louisiana fuel stops under 7(a): neither cancellation nor charge-off is published, because the cohorts were too small, so the page cannot say how many approvals failed to fund. What is published is the shape of the lending. The 43 loans sum to $44.1 million, with a midpoint of $840,000, 0.77x the nation's 7(a) fuel-stop midpoint, with the central half of loans between $327,500 and $1.4 million. A third of the loans, 32.6%, are franchised.

Ranks, holders and places

Louisiana ranks 31 nationally by number of loans; locally the class is placed 11 of 39. American Bank carries 6 loans ($8.3 million). Next is Gulf Coast Bank and Trust Company with 5 loans ($4.3 million). Both are the holders SBA names today. Calcasieu County leads with 7 loans, Orleans and Washington have 4 each, and East Baton Rouge and Saint Bernard have 3. FY2025 was the busiest year by count with 11 loans worth $7.1 million, against 2 each in FY2017, FY2020 and FY2024.

The coding limits

Because the code follows what the borrower does, a Louisiana travel center is not distinguishable from a plain pump station, and the 2022 index lacks any entry for charging. A sponsor proposing either should not treat these figures as a like-for-like comparison.

What a Louisiana fuel project study has to show

Begin with traffic: vehicles per day on the frontage road or highway, the share that stop, and competing pumps on the same route. Louisiana adds hurricane exposure, flood-zone location and insurance cost, and a study should say how the site fares under each. Environmental history of the tanks and soil must be documented, with closure or replacement costs where needed. Fuel margins are thin, so the revenue case must lean on store sales, food and lottery or prepared items, with each assumption sourced. Loans at the upper quartile reach $1.4 million, so the appraisal must value the real estate apart from the fuel supply contract. Coverage should hold after a storm closure of several weeks and at lower volumes. Say whether the station is branded, since that changes costs and supply.