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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Companies offering selective catalytic reduction technology for 2010 engines displayed a variety of hardware for dispensing diesel exhaust fluid.

The U.S. retail diesel average slipped 0.7 cent last week to $2.939, ending a string of five consecutive increases, the U.S. Department of Energy reported.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration Friday issued a rule that will require carriers with serious patterns of hours-of-service violations to user electronic on-board recorders in all vehicles.

The U.S. unemployment rate held at 9.7% in March, though payrolls increased by the most in three years, the Labor Department said Friday.

Automakers saw their biggest U.S. gains in years for the month of March, led by Toyota Motor Corp. with a 41% increase, Ford Motor Co. with a 40% improvement and General Motors Co. with a 21% upturn, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Interstate 95 remained closed in Rhode Island Thursday as the state continued to contend with the worst floods in more than 100 years, news services reported.

U.S. manufacturing activity expanded for the eighth consecutive month in March, the Institute for Supply Management said Thursday.

Construction spending fell in February to its lowest level in more than seven years, the Commerce Department reported.

Initial jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.