Overview
- Outbound shipments declined 1.1% from a year earlier in October after an 8.3% jump in September, undershooting the Reuters poll median for 3.0% growth.
- Imports rose just 1.0%, well below September’s 7.4% pace and short of a 3.2% forecast, with the monthly trade surplus at $90.07 billion versus expectations for $95.6 billion.
- Official manufacturing data showed a six-month low in the PMI, with factory managers reporting a marked drop in new export orders.
- Exporters and economists cited a high base and the unwinding of months of front-loading to avoid potential U.S. tariffs as key drivers of the slowdown.
- After early-October tensions, President Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping agreed to extend a trade truce for one year with steps including tariff reductions and pauses on certain export controls and blacklists.