The trade deficit in goods and services decreased for the second month in a row as it went down $3.1 billion to $41.5 billion. The decrease was driven by an increase of exports and a decrease of imports of $0.3 billion (to $195.9 billion) and $2.9 billion (to $237.4 billion), respectively. One of the main drivers for the increase in exports is the record high exports of Total Services, driven by record exports in Other Business Services and Travel (for all purposes). Exports of both Automotive ($13.7 billion) and Consumer Goods ($17.2 billion) increased to record levels, while their imports decreased by $1.3 billion for Consumer Goods and by $1.1 billion for Automotive.

Did you know that the U.S. usually has a trade surplus in Civilian Aircraft, Engines, and Parts? Yes, products in this end-use category make up 11% of the exports in “Capital Goods” and typically, exports are about twice the size of imports. This year so far, the top five countries for U.S. exports in this category are China ($4.9B), United Kingdom ($3.5B), France ($3.4B), Canada ($2.7B) and Germany ($2.7B). Check out the “Graph of the Month” page for a visual representation of export and import trends for Civilian Aircraft, Engines, and Parts.