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Retail sales rose 1% in January, halting a six-month slide, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

The increase followed 3% plunge in December, and excluding automobiles the increase was 0.9%.

Economists had forecast a 0.8% decline, Bloomberg reported.

Sales at auto parts stores and dealerships rose 1.6%, the first gain since August.

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