The US goods trade deficit ballooned to $105.8 billion in May, a $22.7 billion jump from the prior month and the widest gap the country has posted since at least mid-2025.
According to the US Census Bureau’s Advance Economic Indicators report, goods exports dropped $11.8 billion to $207.7 billion while imports climbed $10.9 billion to $313.4 billion.
What happened to the improving trend
Just a month earlier, the merchandise trade deficit had shrunk to roughly $82.4 billion to $83.7 billion, helped by stronger petroleum-related exports and relatively muted import growth.
May’s data reversed that trend. The export decline wasn’t concentrated in one sector. Industrial supplies and automobiles both saw notable pullbacks, suggesting the weakness was broad-based rather than driven by a single commodity or category.
