Export-Import News Updates

The gap in goods and services trade grew 24.4% from the prior month to $88.6 billion. The value of imports increased 2.8% and exports fell 2.1%.

Merchandise imports climbed 3.7%. The advance was fueled by the largest increase in capital goods — a category that includes computers and accessories, semiconductors and telecommunications equipment — since 1993. 

The shortfall in goods trade declined 4.2% from the prior month to $101.5 billion. U.S. exports of goods fell 1.8%, led by a slide in industrial supplies, while imports dropped by 2.6%.

U.S. exports of goods decreased 5.4%, led by declines across categories including outbound shipments of industrial supplies. Imports rose 3.6%.

The challenges risk affecting a wider swath of the industry as the Trump administration weighs how to create a more formal approach for chip export control.

Freight costs for very large crude carriers have surged. That’s creating a drag on export economics even as dock and pipeline capacities remain available.

November’s midterms will hinge in part on Americans’ attitudes toward the cost of living, and polls show the president is getting poor economic marks.

The growth was largely supported by India’s push into markets like China, although there was also a sharp rebound in shipments to its biggest export destination, the U.S.

The world’s biggest farm machinery maker said in a statement to Bloomberg that it “has kept focus on supporting our customers and helping them build for the long haul.” 

While China's shipments to the U.S. plummeted 29% in November, strong growth in sales to regions like the European Union and Africa more than offset the slump.