Seasonally-adjusted U.S. imports value fell 2.7% month-to-month in May, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, with imports value of $254 billion at its smallest reading in six months. May’s imports value was decrease followed a 2.1 increase in April and was down 8.8% year-over-year.

More granularly, the Bureau reported that imports of industrial supplies (including petroleum and related products) fell 5.9% from April to May and were down 22.1% year-over-year.

Here is what the Bureau reported for imports value on a month-to-month and year-over-year basis in May by end-use category:

May 2023 Imports Value (in billions) May 2023 vs. April 2023 May 2023 vs. May 2022
Foods, Feeds & Beverages $15.9B -3.0% -11.0%
Industrial Supplies $56.0B -5.9% -22.1%
Capital Goods $71.8B +1.3% +0.5%
Automotive Vehicles $37.5B +0.9% +11.7%
Consumer Goods $61.4B -7.3% -16.6%
Other Goods $11.4B +6.7% +11.3%
Total May Imports $254.0 billion -2.7% -8.8%

The Bureau reported the international trade deficit was $91.1 billion in May, down $60.0 billion from April. May exports value was $162.8 billion, down $1.0 billion from April.

May exports of industrial supplies were valued at $65.9 billion, down 3.0% from April (-9.4% March to April) and down 21.8% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the Bureau also reported June 28 that advance May wholesale inventories ended May valued at $912.9 billion, down 0.1% from April and up 3.6% year-over-year. Its month-to-month estimate for March to April was revised from down 0.1% to down 0.3%.

A day earlier, the Bureau reported that new orders for non-defense capital goods — also known as core capital goods — unexpectedly rose 0.7% in May from April. However, April data was revised considerably lower to show that core capital goods increased 0.6% in April compared to the previously reported 1.3%. New orders for manufactured durable goods increased 1.7% in May, marking the third straight month of increase.

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