The US trade deficit widened sharply in August to the largest since early 2025 as a surge in inbound shipments of capital goods helped push imports to a record.
The gap in goods and services trade grew 13.7% from the prior month to $105.6 billion, Commerce Department data showed Tuesday. Economists projected a $102.1 billion shortfall, based on the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.
The monthly trade figures, which are unadjusted for inflation, have been prone to wide swings since early 2025 because of US tariffs and more recently, war-driven volatility in crude oil prices. Supply-chain challenges and a reliance on imported technology to satisfy massive investment in artificial intelligence are also playing a role.
The August deficit in goods and services trade will likely weigh on third-quarter gross domestic product. Before the latest figures, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s GDPNow forecast indicated net exports will subtract 2.59 percentage points from the calculation of GDP.
That would be the most since the early 2025, ahead of the steep tariffs the Trump administration announced on “Liberation Day.”
The value of imports of goods and services increased 4.3% and exports rose 1.4%.
On an inflation-adjusted basis, the merchandise-trade deficit widened to $114.7 billion in August, also the largest shortfall since March 2025.
Capital Equipment
The value of imported capital goods — a category that includes computers and accessories, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment — rose $6.2 billion from a month earlier. Investment in the artificial-intelligence buildout that’s been a key driver of US economic growth.
Imports of semiconductors jumped from the prior month by a record $2.4 billion. Inbound shipments of civilian aircraft and telecommunications equipment also picked up.
The nominal value of imports of industrial supplies, which include oil and petroleum products, rose $9.1 billion from a month earlier. Outbound shipments of those supplies increased $6.3 billion. Imports and exports of nonmonetary gold, a category that has been particularly volatile since early last year, also picked up.
Meanwhile, exports of services were little changed, restrained by the lowest level of spending by travelers to the US since August 2023.
By country, the US merchandise-trade deficit with Canada widened to the largest since the start of 2025. Companies in both countries accelerated shipments to avoid tariffs after trade talks fell apart in August. US tariffs of 50% took effect on billions of dollars of Canadian goods on Aug. 22, prompting Canada to retaliate with with new levies.
The US goods trade deficit with Mexico and Vietnam widened slightly to fresh records, while the shortfall with Taiwan, a key supplier of semiconductors, also grew.