Gas Stations Industry Profile

Companies in this industry primarily sell fuel for motor vehicles; they may also offer car washes, car repairs, or inspections. No major companies dominate the industry. Although major oil companies own few retail fueling outlets, many gas stations contract to sell specific brands of fuel.

Rising demand for motor fuels in fast-growing economies such as China and India is driving gas station growth in those countries. China, the world's second-largest fuel market with $440 billion in retail sales, is home to 90,000 gas stations, according to Reuters. China's state-owned oil company Sinopec operates a third of the country's gas stations and competes with PetroChina, domestic independents, and foreign operators, including Royal Dutch Shell and BP. The Chinese provinces with the most gas stations include Shandong, Hebei, Henan, Guangdong, and Jiangsu. India, with more than 57,000 retail fuel stations and a growing middle class keen on car ownership, is outpacing China as the driver of global oil demand growth. Three state-run firms -- India Oil Corp., Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum -- dominate the market accounting for more than 93% of the market share, according to Platts Analytics. Still, India's fast-growing retail fuel market is drawing attention from major global oil companies, including Shell and UK-based BP.

The US gas station industry includes about 14,200 establishments (single-location companies and units of multi-location companies) with combined annual revenue of about $140 billion. Revenue for the industry, driven mainly by fuel consumption, can ...