Number of self-serve stations rise in Japan

The number of self-service gasoline stations in Japan rose 14% to 7,023 in the 12-month period ended in March, according to data released by the Oil Information Center. While full-serve stations still dominate the market in Japan, pump-your-own stations, which cost less to operate, are becoming more common. As of March 31, self-serve stations accounted for 15.9% of all depots, up by 2.4% from a year earlier as more switched over to the self-serve format. Fewer new self-serve stations opened — 945 compared with 1,269 in fiscal 2006 — while 84 closed down, up from 63 a year earlier. The industry has been suffering from declining sales. The total number of fill-up stations shrank by 4% to about 44,000 in fiscal 2007, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). (August 25, 2008)