New orders for durable goods in the U.S. for March fell at the largest rate in several years, according to figures released Wednesday by the Commerce Department. Advance estimates of new durable goods orders for the month came in at $202.6 billion, a 4.2 percent decrease from February levels, marking the largest monthly decline since January 2009. Most economists had predicted durable goods orders to fall from February levels but the market generally expected a much less severe drop of around 1.5 percent. New orders of durable goods outside of the transportation sector were also down, falling 1.1 percent. Overall non-defense orders for new durable goods fell 4.6 percent in March, the largest drop since August 2009.