The April income and consumption report from the Commerce Department shows only very slim improvement from March.

But the partially postwar report does show that inflation-adjusted disposal income -- consumer purchasing power -- is back to the January level with a 0.3% rise in April. It also shows that inflation-adjusted spending, up 0.1% in April, is now 0.2% above January. Early information suggests that more improvement will be reported for May, according to Jim Haughey, Newport Communications senior economist.
"April had a disturbing 0.6% fall in non-durable purchases that provide most of freight volume," Haughey said. "Consumers may have been too busy watching the war on TV to go to the mall. If so, the decline is temporary."
More encouraging, durable goods purchases rose 1.5% after a 3.1% surge in March. This is solid evidence that that consumers are confident enough of their income to make large purchases and probably add to debt, Haughey said.