Retail Sales Rise for Fourth Time in Five Months

Retail sales rose 0.3% in February, the fourth increase in four months, the Commerce Department said Friday.

The increase followed a revised 0.1% gain in January that had originally been reported as 0.5% increase.

Economists had forecast sales would fall 0.2%, Bloomberg reported. Purchases excluding automobiles gained 0.8%, higher than estimated.

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