May Retail Sales Rise 0.6%
Retail sales rose 0.6% in May following a 0.1% rise in April, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
Economists had forecast a 0.4% rise in May sales, Bloomberg News reported.
Eight of 13 major categories showed gains, led by a 1.8% increase in sales at auto dealerships, the largest increase in six months.
Cars and light trucks sold at an annual rate of 15.2 million in May, the sixth month out of the past seven to exceed 15 million, a level that hasn’t been reached since February 2008, Bloomberg reported.
Sales, excluding automobiles, fuel and building materials rose in May after a revised 0.2% gain the previous month, Bloomberg reported.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
