February 15, 2005 10:00 AM, EST

Retail Sales Fall 0.3% in January, Rise 0.6% Excluding Auto Sales

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he Commerce Department said Tuesday that January retail sales fell 0.3% after spending on automobiles fell from a three-year high.

The decline to $347.7 billion followed a revised increase of 1.1% in December. Excluding auto sales, retail sales rose 0.6% in January, the largest increase since October, Commerce said.

Retail sales had been forecast to fall 0.4%, and sales excluding autos to rise 0.4%, Bloomberg reported.

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

Commerce said automobile dealerships and auto parts stores fell 3.3% last month following a 4% rise in December.

Sales at non-store retailers, includes online purchases and catalog sales, fell 0.2% in January, while sales at general merchandise stores, which include department stores, rose 0.9%.

Commerce said sales at electronics and appliance stores fell 0.6%, while furniture sales fell 0.1%.

Robert Mellman, an economist at J.P. Morgan Securities, told Bloomberg he expected consumer spending to expand at about the same rate as last year, which was up 8% over the previous year.

Commerce said January sales at filling stations rose 1.8%, the biggest rise since October. Excluding cars and gasoline, sales rose 0.5% following a 0.6% increase in December.