United States Goods Trade Balance

The US trade deficit in goods widened sharply to $162 billion in March of 2025, the biggest on record, and above the market consensus of a $146 billion gap as tariffs threatened by the US government drove domestic firms to front-load their imports, according to a preliminary estimate. Imports of goods surged by 5% month over month, or 30.8% annually, to $342.7 billion boosted by consumer goods (55.5% to $102.8 billion), industrial supplies (37.8% to $74.6 billion), and capital goods (22.2% to $92.8 billion). In turn, exports rose by a softer 1.2% month over month, or 6.8% year-on-year, to $180.8 billion, marking the second-highest level on record—just shy of the $181.2 billion peak recorded in July 2022.