Retail Sales Slip 0.3% in December
Retail sales fell 0.3% in December, though November’s sales were revised upward, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
The dip followed a revised 1.8% jump in November that had originally been reported as a 1.3% increase.
Economists had forecast December sales would rise 0.5%, Bloomberg reported.
Purchases excluding automobiles fell 0.2%, in contrast to a 0.3% increase that was forecast.
Auto sales fell 0.8%, though Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. reported December sales gains.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
