Six categories the US Consumer spent less on in July 2023

There are around 300 unique categories of spend that are tracked and reported monthly by the US Department of Commerce here. Although total spend increased $144B from June to July 2023, we were interested in where consumers were cutting spending. We downloaded that data in a .csv at 11am ET on August 31, 2023.

We found six categories, and compiled the underlying data.

Energy prices dropped in July.

Transportation expenses fell broadly in July.

Cars, trucks and vehicle purchases and leases fell.

Miscellaneous services like funerals, cable and satellite TV, hidden securities trading commissions, and medical lab work fell.

Sins and Charity spend (discretionary) fell.

Home decor spent on carpets and flooring fell.

Energy:
Gasoline and other energy goods: -$6B (fuels, lubricants and fluids)
Natural gas: -$2.8B

Transportation:
Foreign travel by U.S. residents: -$3.4B
Parking fees and tolls: -$349M
Other road transportation service: -$278M
​Postal and delivery services -$166M
Taxicabs and ride sharing services -$145M
Moving, storage and freight: -$107M

Cars, Trucks and Vehicles:
New light trucks (purchased): -$2.44B
Used Autos (purchased): -$684M
Auto leasing: -$326M
Motor vehicles and parts: -$312M
Truck leasing: -$192M
New domestic autos: (purchased) -$115M
Other recreational vehicles (purchased): -$156M
Motorcycles (purchased): -$60M

Miscellaneous Services:
Funeral and burial services -$1.5B
Cable, Satellite and other live television services $1.44B
Other imputed indirect securities commissions (hidden commissions): -$414M
Medical laboratories: -$397M

Sins and Charities (discretionary):
Casino Gambling -$1B
Professional advocacy -$986M
Personal remittances in kind to nonresidents: -$94M
Tobacco: -$85M