The jump in imports can be attributed in part to the shift of the peak shipping season to August from the fall, as shippers placed orders early to protect against shipping delays and worked off cargo backlogs due to shortages in vessel and container capacity earlier in the year.
Exports rose $300 million to $153.9 billion and imports increased $4.1 billion to $200 billion.
The deficit in goods increased $3.9 billion to $59 billion, as exports stayed flat at $107.7 billion and imports grew $3.9 billion to $166.7 billion. The United States runs a trade surplus in services.
Year-over-year the trade deficit increased $15.3 billion from August 2009, with exports up 18 percent, or $23.5 billion, and imports up 24 percent, or $38.8 billion.
The trade deficit's growth in consecutive months led several economists to revise downward their estimates of third quarter economic growth to the range of 1.2 percent to 1.8 percent, according to the Wall Street Journal. Imports are considered a drag on the economy because they replace goods that potentially could be reproduced at home. ' Eric Kulisch
