Exports increased 2.7% in nominal terms to $137.7 billion, while imports increased 1.8% to $196.9 billion. Much of the increase in imports was due to higher prices, especially for petroleum and food. The average price of imported crude petroleum was the second highest on record at $65.56 per barrel.
In inflation-adjusted terms, imports of goods rose 0.8%. Inflation-adjusted exports of goods rose 3.7%.
U.S. producers exported record values of capital goods, consumer goods, autos and foods. U.S. consumers imported record values of foods and feeds.
Here's a graph of US exports from the beginning of the year. This is a nice graph. It shows where some of the strength in the underlying economy is.
I would love to see some analysis about the impact of the declining dollar on this number. Here's the weekly chart from stockcharts of the US dollar index.
