Route Transportation & Logistics, Inc. Newsletter 
Toll Free 877-241-7607May 15th, 2012   
In This Issue
Retail Sales Rise
Diesel Drops
Confidence Climbs
Featured Article

Retail Sales Rise 0.1%
 

Retail sales rose 0.1% in April, the slowest pace this year, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

 

The uptick followed a 0.7% gain in March that was slightly below the 0.8% originally reported last month.

 

The April matched economists' forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

Auto dealers' sales rose 0.5%, up from a 0.2% gain in March.

 

Department store, building materials and clothing sales all slowed, though nine of 13 major categories improved.

 

Some of the slowdown was due to unseasonably warm weather in the first quarter, which may have led to stronger sales earlier in the year.

 

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

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Diesel Drops 5.3¢ to Near $4 a Gallon, in Biggest Decline This Year

Diesel took its biggest decline in five months, falling 5.3 cents to $4.004 a gallon, and gasoline fell for a sixth week, the Department of Energy said Monday.

 

Gasoline fell 3.6 cents to $3.754 a gallon, DOE said following its weekly survey of filling stations. 

 

In six weeks, the motor fuel has fallen a cumulative 18.7 cents and is now 20.6 cents below the same week last year.

 

The diesel decline leaves it at the lowest level since February and 5.7 cents below the same week last year, DOE said.

 

Trucking's main fuel has declined 14.4 cents in the past five weeks.

Consumer Confidence Climbs
 

Consumer confidence rose to a four-year high this month, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index. 

 

The preliminary index for the month rose to reading of 77.8, from 76.4 in April.

 

The May reading is the highest since January 2008.

Economists had predicted a decline to 76, Bloomberg reported.
 

 

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Email: craig@rtlusa.com