The U.S. trade deficit expanded in August to its widest in more than a year, as imports of products such as crude oil, gold and semiconductors increased, the WSJ's Konrad Putzier and Anthony DeBarros write.
The trade gap in goods and services widened by 14% in August from July to a seasonally adjusted number of roughly $106 billion, the Commerce Department said. That is the highest level since March 2025, when companies were racing to import goods early in President Trump's second term to get ahead of tariffs.
The data-center boom has driven imports of semiconductors, computers and computer accessories up a total of $234 billion in the first eight months of this year, compared with the same period last year.
The trade deficit for goods reached about $137 billion in August. Still, through the first eight months of the year, the goods deficit was about $110 billion smaller than the same period in 2025. U.S. exports also grew in August, but at a slower pace than imports.
-- Canada's goods-trade surplus with the world ballooned to the largest in more than four years as tariff front-running drove a jump in exports to the U.S. (WSJ)
Number of the Day
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Gigawatts of global demand for data-center capacity forecast for next year, with demand expected to climb to 86 gigawatts in 2028, according to Morgan Stanley.
Automakers
Volvo Cars, a Swedish carmaker owned by a Chinese company that has a factory and material sales in the U.S., is no stranger to straddling geopolitical divides.
Volvo's plan for reviving its fortunes rests on a new generation of cars that will lean in to both its Chinese ownership and the American consumer-even as Congress debates a legislative ban on Chinese cars.
In a WSJ Q&A, veteran CEO Håkan Samuelsson tells reporter Stephen Wilmot that Volvo wants to lower costs by sharing more parts with Geely, its majority owner, while also protecting cars sold in the West from being accessed by China.
-- Mercedes-Benz car sales fell 8% to 407,200 vehicles in the third quarter as a hefty drop in China offset growth in Europe and the U.S. (WSJ)
-- Porsche plans to increase the average selling price of its higher-end vehicles by about 20% to boost exclusivity and profits. (WSJ)
-- Jaguar introduced a showroom-ready version of its new Type 01 electric vehicle. (WSJ)
"Volvo was in America long before we were Chinese. In that respect I hope they see Volvo in another context than any Chinese newcomer."Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson
In Other News
-- German industrial production rose 2.0% in August, recovering from a 1.2% fall in July. (WSJ)
-- Exporters will get an extra year to comply with incoming EU methane-emission rules. (WSJ)
-- Google and Constellation Energy struck a 20-year deal to boost output at 11 nuclear reactors. (WSJ)
-- Uber Technologies agreed to acquire catering and workplace meals platform ezCater for $2.3 billion. (WSJ)
-- Energy Transfer plans to acquire Vaquero Midstream for about $2.63 billion in cash and stock. (WSJ)
-- Norsk Hydro expects a fourth-quarter financial hit of $90 million to $110 million because of gas-supply challenges at its Alunorte refinery in Brazil. (WSJ)
-- Defense technology company Anduril launched a $3.7 billion shipyard project in Maryland at an event attended by President Trump. (Reuters)
-- Redwood Logistics acquired supply-chain technology advisory company JBF Consulting, and plans a new venture called Redwood Advisory. (DC Velocity)
-- Officers with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control searched the Lineage cold-storage warehouse in Los Angeles that burned this summer as part of a criminal probe. (Los Angeles Times)