Quikrete Industry Dashboard

The latest edition of the Quikrete Industry Dashboard shows sales growth for the hardware and building supply retail category, as NAICS 444 sales increased in August compared to both last month and last year.

The U.S. Census Bureau monthly sales report estimated monthly sales for building material and garden equipment and supplies dealers (NAICS 444) increased to an unadjusted $4.9 billion, up 3.0. percent from July’s unadjusted figure.

The subset of hardware store sales (NAICS 44413) for July – the latest month for which data is available—declined on a month-to-month basis, but increased from July of last year.

The U.S. Census Bureau  said overall retail sales in August were up 0.3 percent from July and up 9.1 percent year over year. 

“Household spending remains steady even as costs continue to rise,” NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz said. “Consumers continuing to spend more each month points to the benefits of strong job and wage growth and their use of pandemic savings to help handle persistent elevated prices. Consumers are showing their toughness, but they have limited options and cannot continue if prices do not begin to soften. This retail sales report comes amid mixed signals from the broader economy that show the headwinds against the consumer are strengthening.”

Meanwhile, the Stock Roundup shows that the bears are running on Wall Street. All 10 ticker symbols tracked by the Dashboard are down for the month.

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Coming next: Residential construction numbers will  be released Sept. 20, providing updates on total housing starts and single-family housing starts.