US goods and services deficit was US$64.2B in March, down US$6.4B from February's revised US$70.6B; March exports rose US$5.3B to US$256.2B, imports decreased US$1.1B to US$320.4B: Dept. of Commerce

WASHINGTON , May 22, 2023 (press release) –

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $64.2 billion in March, down $6.4 billion from $70.6 billion in February, revised.

Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1)

March exports were $256.2 billion, $5.3 billion more than February exports. March imports were $320.4 billion, $1.1 billion less than February imports.

The March decrease in the goods and services deficit reflected a decrease in the goods deficit of $6.4 billion to $86.6 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of less than $0.1 billion to $22.4 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit decreased $77.6 billion, or 27.6 percent, from the same period in 2022. Exports increased $61.4 billion or 8.7 percent. Imports decreased $16.2 billion or 1.6 percent.

Three-Month Moving Averages (exhibit 2)

The average goods and services deficit decreased $1.0 billion to $67.8 billion for the three months ending in March.

• Average exports increased $2.4 billion to $255.0 billion in March.
• Average imports increased $1.4 billion to $322.8 billion in March.

Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit decreased $25.9 billion from the three months ending in March 2022.

• Average exports increased $20.5 billion from March 2022.
• Average imports decreased $5.4 billion from March 2022.

Exports (exhibits 3, 6, and 7)

Exports of goods increased $5.2 billion to $174.3 billion in March.

Exports of goods on a Census basis increased $5.0 billion.

• Industrial supplies and materials increased $3.9 billion.
  • Crude oil increased $2.5 billion.
  • Fuel oil increased $1.1 billion.
  • Natural gas liquids increased $0.6 billion.
  • Natural gas increased $0.5 billion.
  • Nonmonetary gold decreased $1.0 billion.
• Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $0.7 billion.
  • Passenger cars increased $0.4 billion.

Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.2 billion.

Exports of services increased $0.1 billion to $81.8 billion in March.

• Travel increased $0.2 billion.
• Transport decreased $0.2 billion.

Imports (exhibits 4, 6, and 8)

Imports of goods decreased $1.2 billion to $260.9 billion in March.

Imports of goods on a Census basis decreased $1.4 billion.

• Capital goods decreased $1.9 billion.
  • Semiconductors decreased $0.6 billion.
  • Electric apparatus decreased $0.6 billion.
  • Excavating machinery decreased $0.5 billion.
• Industrial supplies and materials decreased $1.4 billion.
  • Other petroleum products decreased $0.9 billion.
  • Fuel oil decreased $0.6 billion.
  • Organic chemicals decreased $0.5 billion.
  • Crude oil decreased $0.4 billion.
  • Finished metal shapes increased $1.3 billion.
• Consumer goods increased $2.4 billion.
  • Pharmaceutical preparations increased $0.8 billion.
  • Other textile apparel and household goods increased $0.6 billion.
  • Cell phones and other household goods decreased $1.5 billion.

Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.2 billion.

Imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $59.5 billion in March.

• Travel increased $0.7 billion.
• Transport decreased $0.6 billion.

Real Goods in 2012 Dollars – Census Basis (exhibit 11)

The real goods deficit decreased $4.6 billion, or 4.4 percent, to $99.4 billion in March, compared to a 7.0 percent decrease in the nominal deficit.

• Real exports of goods increased $5.5 billion, or 3.5 percent, to $161.1 billion, compared to a 3.0 percent increase in nominal exports.
• Real imports of goods increased $0.9 billion, or 0.3 percent, to $260.4 billion, compared to a 0.5 percent decrease in nominal imports.

Revisions

Revisions to February exports

• Exports of goods were revised down $0.1 billion.
• Exports of services were revised down $0.2 billion.

Revisions to February imports

• Imports of goods were revised down less than $0.1 billion.
• Imports of services were revised down $0.2 billion.

Goods by Selected Countries and Areas: Monthly – Census Basis (exhibit 19)

The March figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($5.7), Netherlands ($4.0), Belgium ($2.1), Australia ($1.7), Hong Kong ($1.6), United Kingdom ($1.2), and Brazil ($1.1). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($22.9), European Union ($15.6), Mexico ($11.6), Canada ($7.7), Vietnam ($7.5), Germany ($6.3), Japan ($5.9), Ireland ($5.7), Italy ($4.0), South Korea ($3.6), Taiwan ($3.6), India ($3.1), Malaysia ($2.8), Switzerland ($2.1), France ($0.9), Israel ($0.5), Saudi Arabia ($0.4), and Singapore ($0.2).

• The deficit with the European Union decreased $2.6 billion to $15.6 billion in March. Exports increased $1.7 billion to $31.8 billion and imports decreased $0.8 billion to $47.3 billion.
• The deficit with China decreased $2.3 billion to $22.9 billion in March. Exports increased $1.3 billion to $14.4 billion and imports decreased $0.9 billion to $37.3 billion.
• The deficit with Canada increased $2.0 billion to $7.7 billion in March. Exports decreased $1.1 billion to $28.3 billion and imports increased $0.9 billion to $36.1 billion.

All statistics referenced are seasonally adjusted; statistics are on a balance of payments basis unless otherwise specified. Additional statistics, including not seasonally adjusted statistics and details for goods on a Census basis, are available in exhibits 1-20b of this release. For information on data sources, definitions, and revision procedures, see the explanatory notes in this release. The full release can be found at www.census.gov/foreign-trade/Press-Release/current_press_release/index.html or www.bea.gov/data/intl-trade-investment/international-trade-goods-and-services. The full schedule is available in the Census Bureau’s Economic Briefing Room at www.census.gov/economic-indicators/ or on BEA’s website at www.bea.gov/news/schedule.

Next release: June 7, 2023, at 8:30 a.m. EDT
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, April 2023

Notice
Upcoming Updates to Goods and Services

With the releases of the “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services” report (FT-900) and the FT-900 Annual Revision on June 7, 2023, statistics on trade in goods on both a Census basis and a balance of payments (BOP) basis will be revised beginning with 2018 and statistics on trade in services will be revised beginning with 2017. The revised statistics for goods on a BOP basis and for services will also be included in the “U.S. International Transactions, First Quarter 2023 and Annual Update” report and in the international transactions interactive database, both to be released by BEA on June 22, 2023.

Revised statistics on trade in goods will reflect:

• Corrections and adjustments to previously published not seasonally adjusted statistics for goods on a Census basis.
• End-use reclassifications of several commodities.
• Recalculated seasonal and trading-day adjustments.
• Newly available and revised source data on BOP adjustments, which are adjustments that BEA applies to goods on a Census basis to convert them to a BOP basis. See the “Goods (balance of payments basis)” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

Revised statistics on trade in services will reflect:

• Newly available and revised source data, primarily from BEA surveys of international services.
• Recalculated seasonal adjustments.
• Revised temporal distributions of quarterly source data to monthly statistics. See the “Services” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

For more information, see “Preview of the 2023 Annual Update of the International Economic Accounts” in the Survey of Current Business.

Upcoming Change to the Real (Chained-Dollar) Series

With the releases of the FT-900 and the FT-900 Annual Revision on June 7, 2023, the reference year for the chained-dollar series will be updated to 2017 from 2012 to reference the time series on prices from a more recent year. The historical chained-dollar series, which begin in 1994, will also be revised to reflect the new reference year. See the “Adjustments for price change” section in the explanatory notes for more information.

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact the Census Bureau, Economic Indicators Division, International Trade Macro Analysis Branch, on (800) 549-0595, option 4, or at eid.international.trade.data@census.gov or BEA, Balance of Payments Division, at InternationalAccounts@bea.gov.

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