U.S. Trade Balance: Goods

Monthly goods trade deficit — widening deficits signal import dependence; narrowing may reflect reshoring or trade barriers.

Exclude COVID

$-73.3B

Trend YoY growth is -4.7%, accelerating by 9 bps/year over the last 25Y. Latest: -24.8%, 20.1 pp below trend, a 0.59σ deviation. The latest YoY reading is depressed by 22.5 pp due to an tough comparison base from Jun 1. At current levels, YoY would rise to -23.4% by Aug '26 as comparisons ease.

Level

YoY %

y = −7.0% + 9 bps/yr · t

Deviation from trend

Forecast

Projected value by forecast vintage ($M)

Projected value ($M)

Forecast made inNov '25Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Jun '26Jul '26Aug '26Sep '26Oct '26Nov '26Dec '26Jan '27Feb '27Mar '27Apr '27May '27Jun '27Jul '27MAPE
Nov '25$-63.9B$-149.1B$-204.9B$-204.5B$-244.7B$-117.3B$-136.4B$-126.0B$-168.6B$-140.2B$-145.7B$-95.4B$-169.7B$-209.7B$-155.0B$-162.9B$-173.0B$-172.4B$-253.1B$-246.4B$-584.0B349%
Dec '25$-76.1B$-205.3B$-206.0B$-247.6B$-119.2B$-139.1B$-129.0B$-173.2B$-144.4B$-150.5B$-98.8B$-176.1B$-218.1B$-161.5B$-170.1B$-180.8B$-180.6B$-265.5B$-258.8B$-630.8B396%
Jan '26$-54.2B$-208.0B$-250.7B$-120.9B$-141.5B$-131.4B$-176.7B$-147.5B$-154.0B$-101.2B$-180.6B$-223.9B$-165.9B$-174.9B$-186.1B$-186.0B$-273.6B$-266.9B$-664.2B487%
Feb '26$-55.0B$-235.5B$-113.1B$-131.7B$-121.9B$-163.4B$-135.9B$-141.5B$-92.8B$-165.1B$-204.3B$-151.1B$-158.9B$-168.9B$-168.5B$-247.4B$-241.0B$-553.7B520%
Mar '26$-56.6B$-105.9B$-122.6B$-112.7B$-150.3B$-124.5B$-128.9B$-84.2B$-149.3B$-184.0B$-135.6B$-142.3B$-150.7B$-150.0B$-219.7B$-213.5B$-450.3B591%
Apr '26$-54.6B$-98.6B$-88.5B$-115.3B$-93.4B$-94.8B$-60.7B$-105.7B$-128.1B$-92.9B$-95.9B$-100.2B$-98.3B$-142.1B$-136.3B$-217.9B348%
May '26$-77.6B$-77.6B$-100.0B$-80.1B$-80.4B$-51.0B$-87.8B$-105.3B$-75.6B$-77.3B$-80.1B$-77.8B$-111.6B$-106.0B$-145.7B229%
Jun '26$-73.3B$-84.9B$-66.6B$-65.5B$-40.8B$-68.8B$-80.9B$-56.9B$-56.9B$-57.9B$-55.1B$-77.4B$-72.0B$-82.3B
Jul '26$-84.9B$-66.6B$-65.5B$-40.8B$-68.8B$-80.9B$-56.9B$-56.9B$-57.9B$-55.1B$-77.4B$-72.0B$-82.3B

YoY change forecast

Forecast made inNov '25Dec '25Jan '26Feb '26Mar '26Apr '26May '26Jun '26Jul '26Aug '26Sep '26Oct '26Nov '26Dec '26Jan '27Feb '27Mar '27Apr '27May '27Jun '27Jul '27MAPE
Nov '25+19.9%+54.0%+64.3%+74.7%+84.0%+94.3%+104.3%+114.7%+124.7%+135.0%+145.3%+155.3%+165.7%+175.7%+186.0%+196.3%+205.7%+216.0%+226.0%+236.3%+246.3%349%
Dec '25+21.4%+64.6%+75.9%+86.2%+97.5%+108.5%+119.8%+130.8%+142.1%+153.4%+164.4%+175.7%+186.7%+198.0%+209.4%+219.6%+230.9%+241.9%+253.2%+264.2%396%
Jan '26+56.5%+77.7%+88.5%+100.4%+112.0%+123.9%+135.4%+147.3%+159.3%+170.8%+182.7%+194.3%+206.2%+218.1%+228.9%+240.8%+252.4%+264.3%+275.9%487%
Feb '26+53.0%+77.1%+87.4%+97.4%+107.7%+117.6%+127.9%+138.2%+148.2%+158.5%+168.5%+178.8%+189.1%+198.4%+208.7%+218.7%+229.0%+239.0%520%
Mar '26+57.5%+75.5%+83.6%+92.1%+100.2%+108.7%+117.1%+125.3%+133.7%+141.9%+150.3%+158.7%+166.4%+174.8%+183.0%+191.4%+199.6%591%
Apr '26+9.6%+47.7%+50.7%+53.6%+56.6%+59.6%+62.5%+65.5%+68.4%+71.4%+74.4%+77.1%+80.1%+83.0%+86.0%+88.9%348%
May '26-16.3%+32.1%+33.2%+34.2%+35.3%+36.4%+37.4%+38.5%+39.5%+40.6%+41.6%+42.6%+43.7%+44.7%+45.8%229%
Jun '26-24.8%+13.1%+11.7%+10.4%+9.0%+7.7%+6.3%+5.0%+3.6%+2.3%+1.0%-0.4%-1.7%-3.1%
Jul '26+13.1%+11.7%+10.4%+9.0%+7.7%+6.3%+5.0%+3.6%+2.3%+1.0%-0.4%-1.7%-3.1%

Forecasts use ordinary least-squares linear regression fitted to the YoY change series over a rolling 1Y window. Each row shows a vintage — the forecast as it would have appeared at that point in time. Projected values apply the forecasted YoY change to the prior year's level, chaining forward where actuals are unavailable. MAPE measures forecast accuracy against realized values. These are mechanical trend extrapolations, not economic models.