Retail Sales Rise 0.6% in September

Retail sales rose 0.6% in September, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The gain followed a 0.3% increase in August. Sales excluding automobiles rose 0.4%.

The increase was well above economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% rise, Bloomberg reported.

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