The US trade deficit widened sharply to $77.6 billion in May, the largest gap since March 2025, driven by a surge in imports that outpaced declining exports.
Imports climbed 3.3 percent to $395.3 billion, fueled by record-high capital goods purchases of $128 billion and rising semiconductor and automotive parts shipments. Exports fell 3.2 percent to $317.7 billion, though services exports and petroleum exports both reached record highs. The goods trade shortfall jumped 28.4 percent to $106.5 billion, while the services surplus edged up to $28.9 billion.
Vietnam, Mexico and Taiwan led bilateral deficits, while Toyota announced a $3.6 billion investment to shift Tacoma pickup production to Texas by 2030. With first-quarter growth at 2.1 percent, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta projects a slowdown to 1.2 percent for the current quarter.