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The economy’s service sector showed improved activity in August, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims declined 4,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Factory orders rose 1.3% in July, the fourth straight gain, the Commerce Department said.

U.S. workers’ productivity rose in the second at an annual rate of 6.4%, higher than previously reported, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

Logistics provider the Phoenix Group landed a construction logistics contract with the Mexican division of H.E.B. Grocery Co. of Houston that will more than double the size of its construction management division, Phoenix said.

Most carriers were ill-prepared to manage in the current recession, and much has been written lately about “post-recession operation,” a term that strikes me as limiting and defensive — particularly in the case of less-than-truckload carriers.

U.S. manufacturing showed expansion in August for the first time in more than a year and half, the Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday.

U.S. construction spending slipped 0.2% in July, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.