The US merchandise trade deficit widened sharply to $98.5 billion in December 2025, a 19.0% increase from a revised $82.8 billion gap in November and well above market expectations of $86 billion. This was the largest goods trade deficit since July.
Imports rose 3.8% to $278.6 billion, led by a 15.9% jump in industrial supplies. Purchases of capital goods grew 5.5%, while imports of motor vehicles increased 3.9%.
Exports, by contrast, declined 3.0% to $180.0 billion, driven mainly by a 12.3% drop in shipments of industrial supplies.
For full-year 2025, the US goods trade deficit widened to $1.23 trillion, up from $1.20 trillion in 2024.
