On Wednesday, 4 November, the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis released figures showing a $105.0 billion US deficit in goods and services trade in September 2026, a small narrowing from a revised $105.7 billion in August.
Exports rose by $5.8 billion to $321.5 billion, while imports increased by $5.2 billion to $426.6 billion. Because exports grew by more in dollar terms, the gap between the two narrowed by $0.7 billion, or 0.7 per cent. The published totals are rounded.
The headline figures are adjusted for seasonal patterns but not for price changes. They describe activity in September rather than current trading conditions, and the monthly estimates can be revised as more information becomes available.
Computers and soybeans lift exports
Goods exports increased by $5.1 billion to $211.0 billion. In a separate breakdown of goods by type, exports of capital goods rose by $3.8 billion, including increases of $1.3 billion for computers, $0.8 billion for computer accessories and $0.7 billion for civilian aircraft.
Exports of food, feeds and beverages rose by $1.9 billion, with soybeans accounting for a $1.3 billion increase. Industrial supplies and materials moved in the other direction, falling by $1.0 billion. Within that group, non-monetary gold exports fell by $3.4 billion, while crude oil exports rose by $1.2 billion.
Services exports increased by $0.7 billion to $110.5 billion. Travel contributed $0.3 billion of the increase, while charges for the use of intellectual property rose by $0.1 billion.
Imports also climbed
Goods imports rose by $4.4 billion to $346.9 billion. In the separate goods-by-type breakdown, capital goods imports increased by $11.6 billion. Computer imports rose by $7.6 billion and computer accessories by $5.7 billion, while semiconductor imports fell by $1.2 billion.
Consumer goods imports increased by $2.4 billion, including a $2.9 billion rise in pharmaceutical preparations. Imports of industrial supplies and materials fell by $3.7 billion, with lower imports of non-monetary gold and crude oil contributing to that decline.
Services imports rose by $0.8 billion to $79.7 billion. The increase included $0.5 billion in travel and $0.2 billion in transport services.
The US goods deficit in the headline accounts narrowed by $0.7 billion to $135.9 billion. The services surplus, which offsets part of the goods shortfall, slipped by less than $0.1 billion to $30.9 billion.
A different picture after adjusting for prices
A separate measure of goods trade, adjusted for prices and expressed in 2017 dollars, showed the deficit widening by $3.5 billion, or 3.0 per cent, to $119.5 billion. Real goods exports rose by 0.1 per cent to $152.2 billion, while real goods imports increased by 1.4 per cent to $271.6 billion.
That measure is not directly comparable with the headline deficit: it covers goods alone, uses a different accounting basis and adjusts for price changes. An adjustment for non-monetary gold imports explains why the two nominal goods balances moved in opposite directions on their respective accounting bases.
Over a longer period, the average monthly goods-and-services deficit for the three months ending in September rose by $11.3 billion to $101.2 billion. The average smooths some month-to-month movement and therefore gives a different view from September’s narrowing alone.
For the first nine months of 2026, the total deficit was $92.4 billion lower than in the same period of 2025, a decline of 12.2 per cent. Exports over that period were up 11.6 per cent and imports were up 6.2 per cent.
Differences between trading partners
Separate figures for goods trade show a $28.7 billion US deficit with Mexico in September and a $21.9 billion deficit with Taiwan. The deficit with Canada fell by $2.7 billion to $4.4 billion. The United States recorded a $3.0 billion goods surplus with the United Kingdom.
These bilateral figures exclude services and use the goods-trade accounting basis, so they should not be treated as individual shares of the overall goods-and-services deficit. They show balances for the month, not the effect of any single policy on trade. The next monthly figures, covering October, are due on 8 December.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
