All of the predictions ahead of this number and the article itself were predicting this based on inventory surpluses that had been built up in the previous 2 qu

All of the predictions ahead of this number and the article itself were predicting this based on inventory surpluses that had been built up in the previous 2 quarters. That seems a more directly attributable cause than fears of interest rate increases. In fact, if you anticipate interest rate increases it makes more sense to bring spending forward not to delay it.