January durable goods orders nosedive, the largest fall since October

The outlook for capacity utilization of the nation's manufacturing sector remains poor. U.S. durable goods orders plunged 5.2% in January, the U.S. Commerce Department announced Thursday.

Just as significant, durable goods orders have now fallen for six straight months -- the longest negative streak since record-keeping started for the stat in 1992. January's 5.2% decline was the largest since the 8.5% swoon in October 2008.