Economy Grew at 3.3% Rate in Second Quarter, Gov't Says

The Commerce Department revised its report on U.S. economic growth to reflect a 3.3% rate of growth during the second quarter.

In a report released Friday, the department said its previous estimate that the gross domestic product grew at a 3.1% rate was too low and revised it upward because of a burst of consumer corporate and government spending.

GDP is the total of all the goods and services produced in the United States. A strong GDP can signal a healthy, growing economy, which can help trucking companies that rely on consumer and corporate spending to spur demand.

In the first quarter, GDP grew 1.4%, Commerce said. Second-quarter GDP totaled $9.63 trillion at an annual rate.

Commerce said that consumer spending in the second quarter rose 3.8%, helping to drive the increase in the GDP figure. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of economic activity in the United States.

Analysts said they expected the economy to continue to grow and build off of this positive second-quarter revision, Bloomberg News reported.