New Home Sales Jump 15.6% in January

New home sales increased 15.6% in January to the highest level since July 2008, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

Sales rose to a 437,000 annual rate from a revised 378,000, which was higher than originally reported, Commerce said.

The January rate was below economists’ median forecast of 380,000, Bloomberg News reported.

Purchases jumped 45.2% in the West and  27.6% in the Northeast and rose 11.1% in the Midwest and 3.2% in the South.

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.