Economy

U.S. trade deficit narrows to $105 billion as imports hit a record high

Washington, D.C. • November 5, 2026 • By Press Pass USA

Editorial illustration: a container port at dusk, gantry cranes loading a cargo ship stacked with shipping containers

Editorial illustration — Press Pass USA

The U.S. trade deficit narrowed slightly in September, the Commerce Department reported Wednesday, even as imports climbed to a record high on an artificial intelligence spending spree by American businesses.

The shortfall contracted 0.7% to $105.0 billion, the department's Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau said, coming in below the $108.0 billion economists polled by Reuters had forecast. The deficit had been $105.7 billion in August after revisions.

Exports advanced 1.9% to $321.5 billion in September, outpacing a 1.2% rise in imports to a record $426.6 billion. Goods exports increased 2.5% to $211.0 billion, helped by a $1.2 billion jump in crude oil exports, while goods imports rose 1.3% to an all-time high of $346.9 billion.

The import surge was driven by the AI buildout. Capital goods imports shot up by $11.6 billion to a record $158.0 billion, drawn in by computers and computer accessories. Reuters estimated that computers, peripherals and semiconductors accounted for roughly 61% of the trade deficit in September. Imports of consumer goods rose $2.4 billion, while semiconductor imports fell $1.2 billion and industrial supplies and materials dropped $3.7 billion. Services trade also set records on both sides: imports of services reached $79.7 billion and exports of services hit $110.5 billion.

The goods trade deficit tightened 0.5% to $135.9 billion. But adjusted for inflation, it widened by $3.5 billion, or 3.0%, to $119.5 billion — its largest level since March 2025 — meaning the improvement in the headline number did not translate into a smaller real gap.

The report also showed the United States logged record goods trade deficits with several countries in September, including Mexico, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea, despite President Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs.

The flood of imports weighed on growth: the government estimated that imports cut 2.64 percentage points from gross domestic product growth in the third quarter, the most since the first quarter of 2025, when businesses were front-loading orders after Trump's sweeping tariffs. The economy still grew at a 3.4% annualized rate in the July-September quarter, according to the advance GDP estimate released last week.

Year to date, the goods and services deficit is down 12% from the same period in 2025, a sign that the gap, while still above $100 billion a month, has been narrowing over the course of the year.

Sources: Reuters, "US trade deficit narrows slightly in September; imports hit record high" (Nov. 4, 2026, full text verified); The Wall Street Journal (Dow Jones), "U.S. Trade Deficit Contracted in September" (Nov. 4, 2026, full text verified). Event date verified: Commerce Department report released Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026.