Retail Sales Fall 0.4% in December

Retail sales fell 0.4% in December, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Sales excluding automobiles also fell by 0.4%, Commerce said.

The decline was the first since June and finished the weakest year since 2002, Bloomberg reported.

For the year, retailers posted a 4.2% sales increase, the smallest in five years, Bloomberg said. Sales rose 5.9% in 2006.

Economists had forecast no change in sales levels, Bloomberg reported.

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