Recently, the US Commerce Department released some data that shows that as this year went on, the trade deficit of the United States’ imports continues to grow faster than exports, leading to an even starker differential between imports and exports.

While in September it shrunk a little after a record-setting August, an ongoing holiday-driven import surge from retailers that remain hugely dependent on foreign manufacturers led to an increase of imports of $4.4 billion, going up enough to the point where imports are meeting or exceeding the levels hit before the pandemic showed sharp decreases earlier this year. 

That’s not to say that this is necessarily bad news for exporters. The amount of US exports ticked up by a strong number, hitting more than $3.4 billion more than September numbers. The trend for agricultural exports has been a positive one for a few months, chipping away at the major reductions that trade disputes with China had caused for US farmers.

Overall in October, according to the US Commerce Department, the trade deficit was $80.3 billion, an increase of 1.2%. Exports were $126 billion, and imports were $206.3 billion. This indicates that the import sector is heading to a point where the impact of the pandemic has been largely erased, with exports catching up. It shows that even though the USA is an import-dependent economy, US production continues to show healthy growth.

With both imports and exports heading towards record levels, JM Rodgers has the personnel and skills to help any importer or exporter to succeed. If you’d like to discuss further, please contact our SVP of Sales Andrew Galloway at (212) 220-7412, (973) 726-5340, or via email at agalloway@jmrodgers.com.