June Retail Sales Rise 0.1%
Retail sales took a small upturn in June following the first decline in almost a year, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
The 0.1% increase was led by a 0.8% gain in automobile sales, Commerce said.
May’s originally reported 0.2% decline had been the first downturn in 11 months.
The June increase was in contrast to economists’ forecasts of a 0.1% decline, Bloomberg reported.
Automobile sales rose 0.8% and six of 13 major retail categories showed declines, Commerce said.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
