Personal Spending Increases 0.8% in August

The Commerce Department said Monday that personal spending grew 0.8% in August after an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in July.

An increase in personal spending would also increase the demand for trucking services to restock shelves in the months ahead.

Personal income, propelled by a large tax cut enacted by Congress in the spring, gained 0.2% in August, Commerce said.

Disposable income – which is personal income minus taxes and other bills - grew 0.9% after a 1.5% jump in July. The July gain was the biggest monthly gain since January 2002, according to Commerce.

The income and spending figures were close to Wall Street analysts' expectations, the Associated Press reported.

Commerce also said that the price index for personal spending rose 0.3%, its biggest gain since March. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, though, the index was up only 0.1%. The measure is closely watched by Federal Reserve officials as a reliable gauge of inflation trends.

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