US July capital goods imports jump as AI infrastructure shipments lift trade deficit

U.S. goods imports rose 3.7% in July, beating expectations, while goods exports fell 2.9%, according to the news brief cited by Odaily. The sharp move was most visible in capital goods, where imports posted their biggest increase since 1993. That category mainly covers computers and related parts, semiconductors, and telecommunications equipment. The report linked the surge to ongoing physical deliveries tied to the AI data center buildout in the United States. Those shipments include high-performance AI server components, core accelerators used for AI compute, network infrastructure hardware, power systems for data centers, and liquid-cooling parts. In the brief’s framing, the composition of the import data lines up closely with the equipment now being brought in to support large-scale AI computing capacity. The increase in these imports also pushed the U.S. trade deficit to its highest level since March 2025. No further breakdown or official agency source was provided in the input.