July Retail Sales Rise 0.3%

Retail sales gained 0.3% in July, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The gain followed a revised 0.7% decrease in June that was smaller than originally reported.

Economists had projected sales to rise 0.2%, Bloomberg reported.

Sales excluding automobiles rose 0.4%.

Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.