SBA 7(a) Gas Station Feasibility Study in Montana

Montana fuel stops: scattered towns and a sharply smaller ticket

Fuel stops in Montana borrow well below the national scale under 7(a), and they do it across a map of small places. The median of $667,500 equals 0.61x the nationwide figure for gas stations and truck stops, and a loan at the middle of Montana's range runs from $75,000 to $703,500, a band whose lower end suggests equipment or minor improvements at an existing stop. Altogether 25 approvals carry $17.1 million. Franchise brands account for only 8.0% of loans, so most stops are independent. Montana is 40 among states on loan count, yet the class takes slot 7 of 39 within Montana, which reflects how much a rural state relies on its fuel stops. No second ratio on the page clears our margin.

Wallis Bank and the Yellowstone corridor

Wallis Bank is credited with 9 loans and $8.5 million, and Bank of Bridger National Association with 5 loans and $707,100, as SBA now records the holders; the gap in dollars per loan between the two is wide. Yellowstone County has 5 loans, Cascade 4, Carbon and Richland 3 each, and Granite, Park and Sanders 2 each, with single loans in Dawson, Flathead and Gallatin. That list runs from Billings and Great Falls to small towns on the highway network. Approvals included none in FY2019 and FY2022, a single loan of $75,000 in FY2020, and 7 loans with $4.8 million in FY2025, followed by 2 loans worth $5.1 million in FY2026, a bigger sum than any earlier year.

For Montana stops no rate can be given for cancellation or for charge-off, because the loans behind them are too few. The blanks are not a statement of zero, and no clean record should be inferred from the gap.

Reading the code and testing a Montana stop

Coding follows the industry the borrower reports. A travel center or truck stop cannot be separated out, since it shares a code with fuel sites that have no convenience store, while the 2022 index lists no electric vehicle charging, which hides any charging element in these totals. A study for a Montana stop should rest on traffic: highway counts, seasonal flows from tourism toward the national parks, truck volumes and the distance to the next fuel. Fuel margin and store sales should be shown separately, with the supply contract, brand terms and the lender's view of price swings. Winter, long distances and thin local populations mean that income may swing widely by month, so the model needs monthly revenue and a reserve. Tanks and environmental condition can dominate the budget, and the appraisal will weigh them. Show coverage when fuel margins compress or when a wet or snowy season cuts visits.