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Retail sales turn in strong performance in July project44 and 3GTMS partner up for real-time LTL integration Rising Peak Season volumes and rates are intact, says Flexport Newly public Schneider, Werner bright spots in dull Q2 TL earnings picture High hopes remain intact for 2017 U.S. import volumes, says Port Tracker More Logistics News Supplier Relationship Micro Management Optimizing Across Six Guiding Principles All Resources United States retail sales data for the month of July, which was released today by the United States Department of Commerce and the National Retail Federation (NRF), was largely positive. U.S. retail sales contribute around 14 percent, or $2.6 trillion to U.S. GDP. That is a major number and clearly cannot be overlooked, especially when looking at how closely connected retail and consumer activity is tied to the freight transportation and logistics sectors on so many fronts, including trucking, intermodal, parcel, ocean, air, e-commerce, and warehousing and distribution. Commerce reported a 0.6% increase from June to July at $478.9 billion and a 4.2% annual increase. For the period from May through July, total retail sales were up 3.9% annually. Non-store retailers, which includes a heavy focus on e-commerce, reported an 11.2% annual increase in July, which was followed by building materials and garden equipment and supplies dealers, which saw sales up 8.3% annually. The NRF reported that June retail sales, excluding automobiles, gas stations, and restaurants, were up 0.6% from June to July, tripling June’s revised 0.2% growth rate, while July sales headed up 3.5% annually. Non-store retail sales were up 1.3% from June to July and rose 11.4% on an unadjusted basis annually. General merchandise store saw a 0.1% seasonally-adjusted sequential increase and a 1.4% unadjusted annual increase. “Consumer spending remains solid as retail sales saw healthy improvements in July and revised June […]