Taxable sales up 9 percent in May, 16.5 percent in Carson

Taxable sales topped $4.8 billion in May, up 9.2 percent from May 2016.

The capital did even better, notching a 16.5 percent increase to $94.9 million.

Of that total, nearly a third, $27.9 million, came from one category — auto sales. Carson City auto sales increased 22.3 percent over the same month in 2016.

On top of that, Building Material sales increased 13 percent to $13.2 million in May. Another $12.4 million in taxable sales came from Carson City’s General Merchandise Stores, a 5.2 percent increase.

The surrounding counties also had banner months. Churchill reported a 16.1 percent gain to $29.4 million and Douglas an increase to $58.6 million. Lyon County was up 17.3 percent to $39.1 million.

Storey County, where construction and investment at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center is booming, reported a near 570 percent increase from $21.7 million as year ago to $145.7 million this May.

Statewide, building material sales were up 15.8 percent as construction industry classifications continued to boom amid the recovery.

In Churchill, the increase was a product of a better than 1,000 percent increase in the utilities category from less than a half million in May 2016 to $5.5 million.

In Douglas County the most significant increase was in building material sales which rose 33.7 percent to $4.2 million. But Machinery Manufacturing, while a smaller category, rose dramatically from just $173,195 a year ago to more than $1.2 million this year.

Lyon County saw a 53 percent increase in auto sales from $4 million to $6.1 million while Building Material sales rose 26.8 percent to $4.56 million.