Retail Sales Fall 0.5% in June

July 16, 2012 8:45 AM, EDT

Retail sales declined 0.5% in June,��the Commerce Department said Monday.

The 0.5% drop��followed a 0.2% decline in May and is��the third straight month of declines.��

The June decline was��below economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% rise, Bloomberg reported.

Auto dealers’ sales decreased 0.6% while��purchases excluding autos dropped 0.4%.

Nine of the 13 major retail sales categories declined, Bloomberg said.

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

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