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Housing starts rose in March, while building permits increased to the highest level in almost a year and a half, the Commerce Department said Friday.

TUCSON, Ariz. — An official with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration told anxious freight brokers here the agency’s new safety ratings system would not significantly alter their business landscape.

Manufacturing levels in the Philadelphia region expanded in March at the fastest pace in four months, the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said Thursday.

Industrial production rose 0.1% in March, following a 0.2% gain in February, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

Initial jobless claims rose by 24,000 last week, in part due to the volatility around the Easter holiday, the Labor Department said Thursday.

Manufacturing activity in the New York region grew this month for the ninth consecutive month, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday.

The U.S. economy improved in most of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts in March, with the transportation sector improving in most areas, the Fed said.

The Department of Transportation’s freight transportation services index for February fell 2% from a year earlier but rose from January, DOT said.