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otal retail sales declined 0.3% in January, the first drop since September, but excluding automobile sales, they increased 0.9%, the Commerce Department said Thursday.
Almost all trucking operations depend on the health of retail sales because such sales involve nearly every type of cargo.
The increase in sales excluding autos was the largest in five months and showed that consumers took advantage of post-holiday discounts on items such as clothing, Commerce said.
Including autos, sales fell to $322.9 billion, after a 0.2% rise a month earlier.
Sales at general merchandise stores, which include department stores, rose 1% last month, the biggest increase since July. Sales at clothing and accessory stores rose 2.9%, the largest gain since October 2002.
However, sales at automobile dealerships and parts stores declined 3.9% last month, the most since February 2003.
Commerce also said receipts at gasoline service stations rose 1.7% last month following a 0.2% rise in December. The average price of all grades of gasoline at the pump rose to $1.61 a gallon last month, compared with $1.52 a gallon in December, according to figures from the Energy Department.
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