New Home Sales Rise 7.9% in August

New home sales rose 7.9% in August, the Commerce Department reported Sept. 25.

Sales rose to an annual rate of 421,000 homes, after dropping 14.1% the prior month.

The rate was below economists’ median forecast of 420,000, Bloomberg News reported.

Purchases rose in three of four regions, led by a 19.6% increase in the Midwest. Sales dropped 14.6 in the west to a rate of 82,000, the weakest since March 2012.

Rising home sales can mean more business for flatbed trucking companies, which haul building materials, and for dry van freight carriers, which haul household appliances and furniture.