The following is the unedited transcript of the news release from the U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for March, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $381.4 billion, an increase of 0.2 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month and 2.0 percent (±0.7%) above March 2007. Total sales for the January through March 2008 period were up 2.9 percent (±0.3%) from the same period a year ago. The January 2008 to February 2008 percent change was revised from -0.6 percent (±0.5%) to -0.4 percent (±0.2%).

Retail trade sales were up 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from February 2008 and were 1.8 percent (±0.8%) above last year. Gasoline station sales were up 18.9 percent (±2.6%) from March 2007 and sales of nonstore retailers were up 8.7 percent (±2.0%) from last year.


Available at:

http://www.census.gov/svsd/www/marts_current.html