US goods and services deficit was US$74.6B in April, up US$6.0B from March's revised US$68.6B; April exports increased by US$2.1B to US$263.7B, imports up US$8.0B to US$338.2B: Dept. of Commerce

WASHINGTON , June 10, 2024 (press release) –

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $74.6 billion in April, up $6.0 billion from $68.6 billion in March, revised.

Exports, Imports, and Balance (exhibit 1)

April exports were $263.7 billion, $2.1 billion more than March exports. April imports were $338.2 billion, $8.0 billion more than March imports.

The April increase in the goods and services deficit reflected an increase in the goods deficit of $5.9 billion to $99.2 billion and a decrease in the services surplus of $0.1 billion to $24.7 billion.

Year-to-date, the goods and services deficit increased $5.5 billion, or 2.0 percent, from the same period in 2023. Exports increased $32.2 billion or 3.2 percent. Imports increased $37.8 billion or 2.9 percent.

Three-Month Moving Averages (exhibit 2)

The average goods and services deficit increased $2.5 billion to $70.7 billion for the three months ending in April.

• Average exports increased $1.4 billion to $263.8 billion in April.
• Average imports increased $4.0 billion to $334.5 billion in April.

Year-over-year, the average goods and services deficit increased $2.8 billion from the three months ending in April 2023.

• Average exports increased $10.2 billion from April 2023.
• Average imports increased $13.1 billion from April 2023.

Exports (exhibits 3, 6, and 7)

Exports of goods increased $2.2 billion to $172.7 billion in April.

  Exports of goods on a Census basis increased $2.3 billion.

• Capital goods increased $1.9 billion.
  • Electric apparatus increased $0.6 billion.
  • Other industrial machinery increased $0.4 billion.
  • Semiconductors increased $0.4 billion.
• Consumer goods increased $1.2 billion.
  • Pharmaceutical preparations increased $1.1 billion.
• Industrial supplies and materials decreased $1.1 billion.

  Net balance of payments adjustments decreased less than $0.1 billion.

Exports of services decreased $0.2 billion to $90.9 billion in April.

• Travel decreased $0.3 billion.
• Financial services decreased $0.2 billion.
• Other business services increased $0.2 billion.

Imports (exhibits 4, 6, and 8)

Imports of goods increased $8.1 billion to $271.9 billion in April.

  Imports of goods on a Census basis increased $8.0 billion.

• Automotive vehicles, parts, and engines increased $3.9 billion.
  • Passenger cars increased $3.0 billion.
• Capital goods increased $2.4 billion.
  • Computer accessories increased $1.0 billion.
  • Telecommunications equipment increased $0.7 billion.
• Industrial supplies and materials increased $1.3 billion.
  • Crude oil increased $0.7 billion.

  Net balance of payments adjustments increased $0.1 billion.

Imports of services decreased $0.1 billion to $66.3 billion in April.

• Transport decreased $0.5 billion.
• Insurance services increased $0.1 billion.
• Financial services increased $0.1 billion.
• Other business services increased $0.1 billion.
• Charges for the use of intellectual property increased $0.1 billion.

Real Goods in 2017 Dollars – Census Basis (exhibit 11)

The real goods deficit increased $4.7 billion, or 5.3 percent, to $93.5 billion in April, compared to a 6.2 percent increase in the nominal deficit.

• Real exports of goods increased $0.8 billion, or 0.5 percent, to $142.9 billion, compared to a 1.3 percent increase in nominal exports.
• Real imports of goods increased $5.5 billion, or 2.4 percent, to $236.4 billion, compared to a 3.1 percent increase in nominal imports.

Revisions

Exports and imports of goods and services for all months through March 2024 shown in this release reflect the incorporation of annual revisions to the goods and services series. See the “Notice” in this release for a description of the revisions.

Revisions to March exports

• Exports of goods were revised down $0.8 billion.
• Exports of services were revised up $4.8 billion.

Revisions to March imports

• Imports of goods were revised up $0.1 billion.
• Imports of services were revised up $3.1 billion.

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

The April figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($4.6), Netherlands ($4.4), Hong Kong ($1.5), United Kingdom ($1.3), Australia ($1.3), Brazil ($0.6), Singapore ($0.4), and Belgium ($0.3). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with European Union ($22.5), China ($22.1), Mexico ($12.8), Vietnam ($9.6), Ireland ($8.7), Germany ($7.7), Japan ($5.8), South Korea ($5.8), Taiwan ($5.2), Canada ($5.0), Italy ($4.6), India ($4.0), Malaysia ($2.3), Switzerland ($1.9), France ($1.4), Israel ($0.5), and Saudi Arabia ($0.1).

• The deficit with Ireland increased $2.0 billion to $8.7 billion in April. Exports increased $0.2 billion to $1.5 billion and imports increased $2.2 billion to $10.2 billion.
• The deficit with Canada increased $1.2 billion to $5.0 billion in April. Exports decreased $0.7 billion to $29.0 billion and imports increased $0.5 billion to $34.0 billion.
• The deficit with China decreased $2.5 billion to $22.1 billion in April. Exports increased $0.1 billion to $12.2 billion and imports decreased $2.3 billion to $34.3 billion.

Goods and Services by Selected Countries and Areas: Quarterly – Balance of Payments Basis (exhibit 20)

Statistics on trade in goods and services by country and area are only available quarterly, with a one-month lag. With this release, first-quarter figures are now available.

The first-quarter figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with South and Central America ($19.7), Netherlands ($18.4), Singapore ($8.8), Australia ($8.4), Hong Kong ($7.2), Brazil ($6.4), United Kingdom ($4.1), Switzerland ($3.5), Saudi Arabia ($2.7), and Belgium ($2.5). Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China ($61.8), Mexico ($43.5), European Union ($38.5), Vietnam ($27.2), Germany ($22.5), Japan ($16.4), Taiwan ($14.7), South Korea ($13.5), Italy ($11.7), India ($11.3), Canada ($7.6), Malaysia ($5.9), France ($4.9), Ireland ($3.9), and Israel ($1.5).

• The deficit with the European Union increased $7.4 billion to $38.5 billion in the first quarter. Exports decreased $3.8 billion to $158.0 billion and imports increased $3.6 billion to $196.5 billion.
• The deficit with South Korea increased $4.0 billion to $13.5 billion in the first quarter. Exports decreased $0.4 billion to $24.0 billion and imports increased $3.5 billion to $37.5 billion.
• The deficit with Canada decreased $5.8 billion to $7.6 billion in the first quarter. Exports increased $0.5 billion to $111.1 billion and imports decreased $5.3 billion to $118.7 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: July 3, 2024, at 8:30 a.m. EDT
U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, May 2024

Notice
Updates to Goods and Services

In this release and in the accompanying “U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, Annual Revision” release (FT–900 Annual Revision), the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) are publishing revised statistics on trade in goods and services. With these releases, statistics on trade in goods, on both a Census basis and a balance of payments (BOP) basis, and statistics on trade in services are revised beginning with 2019.

Revised statistics on trade in goods 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 reflect:

• An improved estimation method for transport services.
• 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.

This annual revision has not changed the overall trend in the annual goods and services deficit. The deficit was unrevised for 2019, was revised up for 2020, 2021, and 2023, and was revised down for 2022. The largest revision was for 2021 when the deficit was revised up 0.8 percent, reflecting a downward revision to the services surplus.

The revised statistics for goods on a BOP basis and for services will also be included in the “U.S. International Transactions, 1st Quarter 2024 and Annual Update” report and in BEA’s Interactive Data Application, both to be released by BEA on June 20, 2024. For more information, see “Preview of the 2024 Annual Update of the International Economic Accounts” in the Survey of Current Business.

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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