SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Michigan

Michigan stations: smaller loans, one dominant holder

Michigan fuel retailers borrow less than the national norm and rely heavily on a single bank. The 7(a) file shows 117 gas station and truck stop loans for FY2017 to FY2026, $132.3 million in gross dollars, and a median of $734,600, or 0.67x the class median nationwide; that median is the distinctive metric here. Loans in the middle half range from $250,000 up to $1.7 million, and 38.5% bear a franchise brand. Michigan is 12th nationally on loan count, while fuel retail sits at 15 of 39 among Michigan's own financed industries, a middling standing beside a sizeable dollar total.

Detroit's suburbs and the holders

With 26 loans The Huntington National Bank holds the largest block; Byline Bank has 10 and Fifth Third Bank 9, with First Internet Bank of Indiana at 5; each name is today's holder in SBA's file, a listing that says nothing regarding lending standards. Macomb County has 22 loans, Wayne 17 and Oakland 16, so the three counties around Detroit account for most of the record, with Muskegon and Washtenaw at 7 each and Monroe at 5. Annual volume was steady near 11 to 14 loans through FY2021, dipped to 6 in FY2023, and then climbed to 16 loans and $23.2 million in FY2025 and 12 loans and $25.6 million in FY2026.

How the outcome floors read

At least 15.7% of the FY2017 to FY2024 Michigan approvals were cancelled, and 16.9% in the version that writes off unfunded loans as well. Michigan's 49 seasoned loans (funded FY2017 to FY2021) produce a charge-off floor of 2.0% to date, with the same 2.0% inside five years. They are minimums. The cancellation figures matter more for planning, because a project that is approved and then abandoned has cost its sponsor time and deposits.

A Michigan fuel project under test

A study for a Michigan station should rest on fuel volumes derived from traffic on the specific road, and on the competing sites within the same drive. Winter weather affects trips and store sales, so the model should show a cold-season quarter. Cost has to square with a median near $734,600, and a project near the top of the middle half should justify its size. Where a franchise brand is involved, the supply agreement and image upgrades belong in the numbers. Environmental condition of an old station site is a gating item. The industry is recorded as the borrower reported it, and truck stops and travel plazas stay inside the station count, while EV charging has no 2022 NAICS entry, so a charging project will not appear in these figures.