Regional Patterns in Gasoline Station Rationalization in Canada

The number of gasoline stations in Canada fell by 40 % over the 1990s. Over the same period, the industry evolved from a large number of small stations with full service and automotive service bays, to large self serve stations with car washes and convenience stores. Demand and cost related theories of rationalization can explain the nationwide trends, but seem less able to explain city level variation in the timing and magnitude of rationalization. In this paper, we make use of a brand-level panel data set of station counts, shutdowns and characteristics for 12 Canadian cities from 1990 to 2005 to examine the relative importance of different region-level events and changes to the evolution of gasoline retailing. We find that market structure events and regulations are more strongly associated with the shutdown patterns of independent gasoline retailers than refinery-brand stations. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media New York 2014