The U.S. trade deficit narrowed to $105.0 billion in September 2026, down from a revised $105.7 billion in August, as exports increased faster than imports, according to the September trade report released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, November 4.
Exports rose 1.9% to $321.5 billion, while imports increased 1.2% to $426.6 billion. The goods-and-services deficit decreased by $690 million, or approximately 0.7%, based on the unrounded figures published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Census Bureau.
The improvement was modest. Imports continued to rise, while the deficit remained substantially larger than a year earlier. Stronger exports, rather than weaker import demand, accounted for September’s narrower trade gap.
Exports Outpace Imports
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in September as export growth outpaced imports, although both reached higher levels than in August. The government’s official trade tables show that the improvement came mainly from a smaller goods deficit, while the services surplus remained nearly unchanged.
| Measure | August 2026 | September 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Exports | $315.666B | $321.511B |
| Imports | $421.403B | $426.558B |
| Trade deficit | $105.737B | $105.047B |
| Goods deficit | $136.627B | $135.911B |
| Services surplus | $30.891B | $30.865B |
Source: BEA and U.S. Census Bureau, Exhibit 1. Seasonally adjusted, current-dollar figures on a balance-of-payments basis. All values are billions of U.S. dollars.
Goods exports increased $5.1 billion to $211.0 billion. Within the Census Bureau’s commodity-based figures, capital goods exports rose $3.8 billion, including increases of $1.3 billion in computers and $700 million in civilian aircraft. Soybean exports also increased $1.3 billion.
Capital goods exports reached a record $73.3 billion, according to the Census trade highlights. These cross-border shipments measure something different from domestic core capital orders, which track demand for certain business equipment manufactured in the United States.
Imports of goods increased $4.4 billion to $346.9 billion on a balance-of-payments basis. The underlying Census commodity figures showed particularly large increases in computers, up $7.6 billion, and computer accessories, up $5.7 billion.
Those increases are relevant to the broader discussion of AI investment spending, although the trade release does not establish how much of the imported equipment was purchased for artificial intelligence infrastructure or identify its final buyers.
Services exports increased $0.7 billion to $110.5 billion, while services imports rose $0.8 billion to $79.7 billion. As a result, the services trade surplus declined slightly to $30.9 billion, partially offsetting the improvement in the goods balance.
A Complicated Signal
The narrower headline deficit does not mean every measure of trade improved. The BEA reported that the inflation-adjusted goods deficit, calculated on a Census basis using chained 2017 dollars, increased $3.5 billion to $119.5 billion in September. Real goods imports rose 1.4%, while real goods exports increased just 0.1%.
That comparison uses different statistical adjustments from the headline goods-and-services balance. The BEA specifically identified an adjustment involving nonmonetary gold imports as the reason the nominal Census-basis goods deficit increased while the balance-of-payments goods deficit decreased.
This distinction matters when interpreting nominal trade values alongside changes in September import prices. Higher dollar values do not necessarily represent equivalent increases in the physical quantity of goods exchanged.
The September release also provides important historical context. During the first nine months of 2026, the cumulative U.S. goods-and-services deficit was $662.3 billion, compared with $754.6 billion during the corresponding period of 2025. That represents a decrease of $92.4 billion, or 12.2%.
Yet September’s individual monthly deficit was approximately $45.7 billion larger than in September 2025, calculated from the published Exhibit 1 values. The three-month moving average offers another caution. It increased from $89.9 billion in August to $101.2 billion in September, indicating that the small monthly improvement did not reverse the recent rise in the average trade gap.
Revisions And Outlook
August’s trade deficit was revised upward from the originally reported $105.6 billion to $105.7 billion. The underlying figures show that August exports were raised by $484 million, while imports were raised by $649 million. The revisions matter because September’s improvement is measured against the updated August figures, rather than the estimates first published in the August trade release.
The latest figures also add detail to the broader third-quarter GDP picture. However, nominal monthly trade totals should not be treated as a direct measure of trade’s contribution to inflation-adjusted economic growth.
Other indicators, including September retail sales and October manufacturing activity, provide separate perspectives on domestic demand and production. None independently establishes the causes of September’s change in the trade deficit.
The figures also do not establish a direct change in household prices or determine the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate decision. The next U.S. international trade report, covering October 2026, is scheduled for Tuesday, December 8, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, according to the official release schedule.
The date can also be tracked alongside other upcoming indicators on the economic calendar. That report will provide the next official test of whether export growth continues to outpace imports or whether the trade deficit widens again.
