[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
Trade deficit narrows slightly on pickup in goods exports
Gap in goods and services trade shrank 0.7% in September from the prior month to $105 billion
Shipping containers stacked at the Port of Charleston in Mount Pleasant, S.C. (Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg
Key Takeaways:
- The U.S. trade deficit narrowed 0.7% in September to $105 billion as exports rose to a four-month high.
- Exports rose 1.9%, while imports increased 1.2% as inbound capital goods reached a record amid heavy spending on AI capacity.
- The inflation-adjusted merchandise-trade deficit widened to $119.5 billion, the largest since March 2025, while the goods deficit with Canada shrank.
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in September as the value of goods exports rose to a four-month high.
The gap in goods and services trade shrank 0.7% from the prior month to $105 billion, Commerce Department data showed Nov. 4. Economists projected a $107.9 billion shortfall, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The monthly trade figures, which are not adjusted for inflation, have gyrated through U.S. tariffs, a war-driven jump in oil prices, supply chain disruptions and surging demand for computers, semiconductors and other components needed to build more data centers.
The value of exports rose 1.9%, led by an increase in outbound shipments of capital goods. Imports increased 1.2%, also led by a surge in business equipment.
The value of inbound capital goods — a category that includes computers and accessories, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment — rose $11.6 billion from a month earlier to a fresh record. U.S. companies are spending heavily on imported technology to ramp up artificial intelligence capacity.
🆕 The nation's #InternationalTrade deficit in goods and services decreased to $105.0 billion in September from $105.7 billion in August (revised), as exports increased more than imports. https://t.co/jqYjiaHsvj #CensusEconData @BEA_News https://t.co/siqeME8kP7
— U.S. Census Bureau (@uscensusbureau) November 4, 2026
At the same time, imports of industrial supplies, which include oil and petroleum products, fell $3.7 billion from a month earlier. The U.S. imported fewer barrels of crude oil than a month earlier, according to the report. Exports of industrial supplies decreased $1 billion.
Imports and exports of nonmonetary gold, a category that has been volatile recently, also declined.
On an inflation-adjusted basis, the overall merchandise-trade deficit widened to $119.5 billion in September, the largest since March 2025.
Exports of services, a category that includes travel, royalties and financial services, ticked up to a fresh record.
By country, the U.S. merchandise trade deficit with Canada shrank. Companies on both sides of the border stepped up shipments this summer to get ahead of tariffs after trade talks fell apart. U.S. tariffs of 50% took effect on billions of dollars of Canadian goods on Aug. 22; Canada retaliated with levies of its own.
