imports

March trade deficit increases 43%; should have minimal impact on 1st quarter GDP

Our March trade deficit surged to the highest level in nearly 7 years as the ending of the west coast dock strike allowed ships that had been sitting offshore to unload.  The March report on our international trade in goods and services showed that our seasonally adjusted goods and services deficit rose by $15.5 billion, or 43%, to $51.4 billion in March, from a revised February deficit of $35.9 billion, which had itself fallen by $6.8 billion from January while the strike was underway.