US semiconductor imports jump $2.4 billion to record $15.4 billion in August

The US bought more foreign chips in August than in any month on record. Semiconductor imports rose by $2.4 billion to hit $15.4 billion. The driver is the race to build AI data centers across the country. Those facilities need enormous amounts of hardware, and much of it still has to be shipped in from overseas. The numbers behind the record On the other side of the ledger, US semiconductor exports for August came in at approximately $7.79 billion. The country is importing nearly twice the chip value it sends abroad. Chips were part of a much bigger story. Capital goods imports, the category covering machinery and equipment businesses use to produce things, rose by $6.2 billion to reach $146.4 billion. The year-to-date picture is even more striking. Capital goods imports have totaled $1.02 trillion so far in 2026, a 39% increase over the same stretch of 2025. The trade deficit takes the hit All that buying pushed the broader trade numbers sharply in one direction. The US goods-and-services trade deficit widened to $105.6 billion in August. That marks a 13.7% increase from July’s revised deficit of $92.8 billion. It is also the largest gap since March 2025. Total imports reached a r...