TravelCenters of America reported $4.5 million in net income for the third quarter, a big improvement from the $12.2 million net loss reported for the same quarter last year.
EBITDAR increased by $19.9 million. T

he fuel margin per gallon TA achieved in the 2010 third quarter was a key factor in this improvement. Although other factors have an effect, fuel gross margins per gallon tend to be lower during periods of rising fuel prices and higher during periods of falling fuel prices. While fuel commodity prices during the 2010 third quarter were at a higher level than in the 2009 third quarter, there were more days of declining fuel commodity prices throughout the third quarter of 2010, as compared to the same quarter of the prior year. Additionally, fuel commodity prices were less volatile in the 2010 third quarter than in the 2009 third quarter.

As a result, TA's fuel gross margin per gallon increased as compared to the prior year, when fuel commodity prices were rising. Combined with an increase in fuel sales volumes, this resulted in total fuel gross margin that was $14.2 million higher in the third quarter of 2010 than the third quarter of 2009.

Nonfuel sales for the 2010 third quarter increased from the comparable periods of 2009 largely due to an increased number of customers in TA's travel centers as a result of increased trucking activity.

During the third quarter of 2010, TA saw an increase in same-site fuel sales volume of 5.6 percent compared with the third quarter of 2009. These increases resulted from a combination of TA's marketing and customer service initiatives and increased trucking activity attributable to increased economic activity in the U.S.

At September 30, TA's business included 229 sites, 166 of which were operated under the "TravelCenters of America" or "TA" brand names and 63 of which were operated under the "Petro" brand name.