Pickup Sales Get a Boost From Surging U.S. Agriculture Industry

U.S. pickup sales are getting a boost from rising farm incomes, giving carmakers extra momentum as the auto industry recovers from the worst sales in almost three decades.

In the first nine months of the year, pickup sales rose 14 percent to 1.2 million, according to Autodata Corp., a Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey-based researcher. The gain outpaced the 10 percent increase overall industry deliveries.