U.S. Trade Deficit Widens to $134.9 Billion as Imports Hit Record

The U.S. goods trade deficit widened to $134.9 billion in September as imports climbed to a record, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday in its advance economic indicators report.

The gap grew by $2.8 billion, or 2.1%, from $132.1 billion in August. Imports of goods rose $8.1 billion to $344.1 billion, while exports increased $5.3 billion to $209.2 billion.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected the deficit to narrow to $130.2 billion. The September shortfall was the largest since March 2025, Reuters reported.

Capital goods led the increase in imports, jumping 7.5% from August and running 77.2% above their level a year earlier. Imports of consumer goods rose 3.1%, while industrial supplies fell 6.0%.

“So much of the hardware that the tech companies need is coming from overseas, driving a massive widening in the trade gap,” said Stephen Stanley, chief U.S. economist at Santander US Capital Markets.

On the export side, shipments of food rose 12.8%, consumer goods exports climbed 6.5% and capital goods exports gained 5.4% from the prior month.

A Drag on Third-Quarter Growth

The wider gap signals another hit to third-quarter gross domestic product. Pantheon Macroeconomics estimates trade subtracted about 4 percentage points from growth, while Oxford Economics put the drag at 3.25 points.

Trade has not added to growth for three straight quarters. Before the report, economists in a Reuters poll had forecast third-quarter GDP growth at a 3.2% annualized rate, up from 2.2% in the second quarter.

“Growth of around 1% now seems more likely, although we … concede that last quarter’s headline GDP number is even harder to pin down than usual,” said Oliver Allen of Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Not every economist read the numbers as bad news. Daniel Vielhaber of Nationwide argued the import surge reflects underlying demand from businesses and households rather than economic weakness.

“Although trade will weigh on quarterly GDP, this is a sign of strength rather than weakness for the US economy as it signifies continued business investment and momentum for consumer spending,” Vielhaber said.

September marked the fourth widening of the goods deficit in five months, according to Haver Analytics. The gap stood at $118.86 billion in July and $82.73 billion in September 2025.

Imports were up 28.2% from a year earlier. The deficit had fallen to a low of $61.44 billion in October 2025 after hitting a record $158.73 billion in March 2025.

The Census report also showed wholesale inventories rose 0.6% to $1.0115 trillion in September, while retail inventories increased 0.3% to $885.3 billion, figures that feed into the GDP calculation.

The import boom has also figured in the inflation debate. Economists and many Fed policymakers see prices pushed higher in part by strong demand from the artificial intelligence industry, Reuters reported.

The Federal Reserve was expected to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% on Wednesday, with futures markets pricing a likely hike in December, CNBC reported.

The Commerce Department is scheduled to release its advance estimate of third-quarter GDP on Thursday. The next advance goods trade report is due Nov. 27.

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