U.S. Goods Trade Deficit Widens to $134.9 Billion in September

The U.S. goods trade deficit widened to $134.9 billion in September, as imports rose by a larger dollar amount than exports, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. The shortfall increased by $2.8 billion, or 2.1%, from a revised $132.1 billion in August.

Goods imports climbed $8.1 billion to $344.1 billion, while exports increased $5.3 billion to $209.2 billion. Both sides of the trade ledger expanded during the month. The deficit grew because the extra value of goods arriving in the United States exceeded the additional value shipped abroad.

These are advance estimates for merchandise trade, adjusted for seasonal patterns but not for price changes. They do not include international services trade, and they should not be read as a final measure of the country’s total September trade balance.

Capital goods account for most of the import increase

Capital goods, a broad category that includes machinery and equipment, accounted for the sharpest change. Imports in this group reached $157.4 billion in September, up from $146.4 billion in August. That nearly $10.9 billion increase, or 7.5%, was larger than the $8.1 billion rise in overall goods imports, according to the Census Bureau’s September advance report and its accompanying trade tables.

Other product groups moved in the opposite direction, partly offsetting the rise in capital goods. Imports of industrial supplies and materials fell from $62.7 billion to $58.9 billion, a decline of about $3.7 billion. Automotive goods imports decreased roughly $1.4 billion to $34.3 billion, and food, feed and beverage imports also edged lower.

Consumer goods imports rose about $1.8 billion to $59.3 billion. The increase was much smaller than the gain in capital goods, but it showed that higher purchases were not confined to business equipment. Imports categorized as other goods also increased, by about $1 billion, leaving the total rise concentrated in a few areas rather than spread evenly across all major categories.

A higher capital goods import figure can reflect spending on equipment produced overseas, but this release does not identify one industry or investment program as the cause. The category covers a wide range of products, and the advance table does not establish how much of the increase was linked to artificial intelligence infrastructure, factory investment or other uses.

These values are measured in current dollars. Changes in prices and the mix of imported merchandise can affect the monthly totals alongside changes in the physical quantity of goods. That distinction matters when interpreting a jump in a single category, particularly before more detailed trade and economic output data become available.

Exports advance, with gains in equipment and food shipments

Exports also strengthened in September. Capital goods exports reached $73.3 billion, up about $3.8 billion from August. Food, feed and beverage exports rose about $1.8 billion to $16 billion, while consumer goods exports increased roughly $1.3 billion to $22.2 billion.

Not every export category improved. Shipments of industrial supplies and materials declined by approximately $1.2 billion to $76.5 billion. Automotive goods exports fell about $700 million to $11.9 billion. Those declines reduced the benefit of stronger exports elsewhere, but the overall export total still rose for the month.

In percentage terms, exports increased 2.6%, slightly faster than the 2.4% gain in imports. The larger starting value of imports explains why that percentage comparison did not translate into a narrower deficit. An increase of 2.4% on more than $336 billion of imports generated a bigger dollar change than a 2.6% increase on roughly $204 billion of exports.

The gap was also larger than a year earlier. September 2025’s seasonally adjusted goods deficit was about $82.7 billion, compared with $134.9 billion this September. Over that period, goods imports increased 28.2% and exports rose 12.7%, according to the Census tables. The monthly report measures the size of the change but does not, on its own, separate the effects of demand, prices, trade policy and the timing of shipments.

August’s comparison also requires the revised baseline. The September advance release uses an August goods deficit of $132.1 billion, rather than the $132.6 billion originally published in the prior advance report. Such revisions are part of the normal statistical process and can change the month-to-month comparison even when the newest month’s figures are unchanged.

The full trade balance and third-quarter GDP are still to come

September’s $134.9 billion goods shortfall is not directly comparable with the headline deficit in the latest complete goods-and-services report. For August, the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis reported a combined goods-and-services shortfall of $105.6 billion. That release included a $31 billion services surplus, which partially offset a goods deficit of $136.6 billion measured on a balance-of-payments basis.

By contrast, the September advance series covers goods on a Census basis, before the adjustments and services figures used in the full monthly report are available. The Census Bureau says the current month’s advance statistics reflect nearly complete shipment coverage, with the complete figures to follow in the regular trade release. Comparing the two headline deficits without recognizing those differences would give a misleading account of the monthly change.

Wednesday’s merchandise figures also precede the government’s first estimate of third-quarter gross domestic product. Net exports are part of GDP accounting, but the figures released Wednesday are nominal merchandise values for one month. Real GDP uses price-adjusted measures and includes services, so the September goods deficit alone cannot determine whether trade added to or subtracted from economic growth during July through September.

Alongside the trade figures, the advance release included an update on business inventories. Wholesale inventories were estimated at $1.0115 trillion at the end of September, an increase of 0.6% from August, while retail inventories rose 0.3% to $885.3 billion. Both estimates were seasonally adjusted but not adjusted for prices. They provide context on goods held by businesses, rather than a direct measure of final consumer purchases or real inventory investment.

The BEA release calendar lists October 29 for the advance estimate of third-quarter GDP and November 4 for the complete September goods-and-services trade report. That second report will provide the services data and updated goods figures needed to evaluate September’s overall trade position.