--- source: U.S. Census Bureau url: https://www.census.gov/econ/indicators/2026/advance_report2603.pdf document_type: pdf date_retrieved: 2026-04-29 period: March 2026 parent_publication: Monthly Advance Economic Indicators Report indicators_covered: ["Goods Trade Balance"] --- # MONTHLY ADVANCE ECONOMIC INDICATORS REPORT, MARCH 2026 **Release Number:** CB26-71 **For Release At:** 8:30 AM EDT, Wednesday, April 29, 2026 --- ## Summary Table | Period | Goods Trade Deficit (Advance) | Wholesale Inventories (Advance) | Retail Inventories (Advance) | |--------|------------------------------|--------------------------------|-----------------------------| | March 2026 | $87.9 Billion (+5.3%°) | $932.8 Billion (+1.4%) | $823.5 Billion (+0.7%) | | February 2026 | $83.5 Billion | $920.3 Billion (R) | $817.8 Billion (R) | > *The 90 percent confidence interval includes zero. There is insufficient evidence to conclude that the actual change is different from zero. > ° Statistical significance is not applicable or not measurable. > Data adjusted for seasonality but not price changes. > Source: U.S. Census Bureau; Advance Economic Indicators Report, April 29, 2026. --- ## Advance International Trade in Goods The international trade deficit was **$87.9 billion** in March, up **$4.4 billion** from $83.5 billion in February. Exports of goods for March were **$211.5 billion**, $5.2 billion more than February exports. Imports of goods for March were **$299.3 billion**, $9.6 billion more than February imports. --- ## Advance Wholesale Inventories Wholesale inventories for March, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of **$932.8 billion**, up 1.4 percent (±0.2 percent) from February 2026, and were up 2.9 percent (±1.1 percent) from March 2025. The January 2026 to February 2026 percentage change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.8 percent (±0.4 percent) to up 0.9 percent (±0.4 percent). --- ## Advance Retail Inventories Retail inventories for March, adjusted for seasonal variations and trading day differences, but not for price changes, were estimated at an end-of-month level of **$823.5 billion**, up 0.7 percent (±0.2 percent) from February 2026, and were up 2.3 percent (±0.5 percent) from March 2025. The January 2026 to February 2026 percentage change was revised from the preliminary estimate of up 0.2 percent (±0.2 percent)* to up 0.3 percent (±0.2 percent). --- ## Explanatory Notes ### International Trade in Goods (Census Basis) Data for goods on a Census basis are compiled from the documents collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and reflect the movement of goods between foreign countries and the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. Foreign Trade Zones. They include government and non-government shipments of goods and exclude shipments between the United States and its territories and possessions; transactions with U.S. military, diplomatic, and consular installations abroad; U.S. goods returned to the United States by its Armed Forces; personal and household effects of travelers; and in-transit shipments. Data for U.S. exports to Canada are derived from import data compiled by Canada. For imports, the value reported is the U.S. Customs and Border Protection appraised value of merchandise—generally, the price paid for merchandise for export to the United States. Import duties, freight, insurance, and other charges incurred in bringing merchandise to the United States are excluded. Exports are valued at the free alongside ship value of merchandise at the U.S. port of export, based on the transaction price including inland freight, insurance, and other charges incurred in placing the merchandise alongside the carrier at the U.S. port of exportation. ### Nonsampling Errors Goods data are a complete enumeration of documents collected by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and are not subject to sampling errors. This report presents current month statistics which reflect nearly complete coverage. Current month statistics reflecting complete coverage will be published in the upcoming U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report (FT-900). Statistics for other months shown reflect complete coverage and appear in the most recently published FT-900. Quality assurance procedures are performed at every stage of collection, processing, and tabulation. However, the data are still subject to several types of nonsampling errors. Information on nonsampling errors and other quality issues are available in the Guide to Foreign Trade Statistics, . The U.S. Census Bureau recommends that data users incorporate this information into their analyses, as nonsampling errors could impact the conclusion drawn from the results. For a detailed discussion of errors affecting the goods data, see *U.S. Merchandise Trade Statistics: A Quality Profile* (October 2014), available at or from the Economic Indicators Division, U.S. Census Bureau. ### Adjustments for Seasonal and Trading-Day Variations Goods data are presented on a seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted (and/or trading day adjusted data) are produced using X-13ARIMA-SEATS software to develop monthly adjustment factors. Goods data are initially classified under the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (Harmonized System). Combining trade into approximately 140 export and 140 import end-use categories makes it possible to examine goods according to their principal uses. These categories are used as the basis for computing the seasonal and trading-day adjusted data. These adjusted data are then summed to the six end-use aggregates for publication. --- **Next release:** May 29, 2026. **Full report:**