November Retail Sales Rise 0.3%
Retail sales rose 0.3% in November on higher demand for automobiles and electronics, the Commerce Department reported Thursday.
The increase followed a 0.3% decline in October that had been the first downturn in four mouths.
The November gain matched economists’ median forecast, Bloomberg reported.
Automobile sales rose 1.4% to a four-year high, in part due to people who bought vehicles to replace cars and trucks damaged by Hurricane Sandy, Bloomberg reported.
Ten of 13 major categories showed gains for the month, with electronics sales jumping 2.5%.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
