U.S. Imports Near $1 Trillion, A Record Pace Being Set For 2025

Eight of the top 10 U.S. imports are running at a record pace this year, including two that are up more than 1,000 percent and had never ranked in the top 10 previously, according to my analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data.

Prior to this year, U.S. imports had not once topped $800 billion in a first quarter. This year, U.S. imports almost topped $1 trillion through March, the most recent data available. As I reported in a post last week, exports are also climbing at a record level.

The total for the top import, a rather opaque-titled “articles with precious metals,” was the highest quarterly total ever. The category had barely ranked in the top 50 the previous eight years.

What’s going on? Call it the Trump tariff effect.

Businesses up and down the supply chain handling U.S. exports and imports – but particularly those on the importing side – are trying to avoid tariffs that are being threatened, imposed, increased, paused, lessened and sometimes eliminated by President Trump in what can be charitably described as an erratic and unpredictable trade policy.

Forget “just in time.” That’s a long-time mantra in the logistics world, where goods were manufactured, shipped and delivered “just in time” for the ultimate consumer. The idea was simple: Nothing sits for long. Eliminate all sand in the gears of international trade.

Sand is being poured in now. In the first quarter, the first three months of Trump’s second term, “just in time” was replaced by “front-loading.”

That meant more congested seaports, airports and border crossings, more demand and expensive shipping options, more congested warehouses, more inventory, different cash-management issues and more guesswork on demand.

The record exports and imports through the first quarter will serve as a marker in the coming months, as the impact of Trump’s tariffs, including those levied on all countries of the world on April 2, play out.

On Wednesday, the Court of International Trade blocked those April 2 “Liberation Day” tariffs, ruling Trump had exceeded his executive authority to levy the tariffs under a rarely used 1977 law. Trump has indicated the administration will appeal.

In this post, I will look at the top 10 U.S. imports, imports that accounted for 40.51% of the total for the more than 1,200 categories that exist in an intermediate level of Census Bureau data.

I will focus on from which countries the imports are coming, through which ports they are traveling and how the change compares to previous years.

Articles with precious metals

The articles with precious metals category not only ranked first among all U.S. imports for the first time ever, the $72.28 billion total was the most since the first quarter of 2012 when oil topped $81.64 billion, at a time when the United States was still a large oil importer. For the precious metals category, the increase from the first quarter of 2024 was $70.82 billion, an increase of 4,843%.

Since the United States began producing and exporting oil in significant amounts a decade ago, the only other import to ever top $50 billion is the passenger vehicle category, which has done so the last two years. Since 2014, oil only topped $40 billion on a quarterly basis once, in 2022.

The category of articles with previous metals includes gold, silver, platinum and other derivative forms of the three, but in the first quarter was more than 90% gold for only the third time in more than two decades. The only other two years were 2009 and 2020.

Why now? Chaos and uncertainty.

One thing that’s true about gold is that it increases in value and mobility during times of economic stress. So, it is not surprising that its growth aligns closely with the two most recent times of such stress, the 2020 onset of the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2009 U.S.-mortgage-led global recession. (The data only goes back to 2003, so does not include the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes on New York City and Washington, D.C.)

This gold, which is 99.50% gold by weight and in a rectangular form, is not to be confused with the primary gold category, which has a subcategory that Census calls “bullion” and describes as rectangular shaped and 99.95% gold. The primary gold category increased 178.49% to a record, first-quarter high of $6.92 billion and a No. 20 rank.

By value, the gold in the precious metals category comes to the United States from Switzerland, where a majority of the world’s gold is refined. Almost two-thirds is coming from there this year, with the second-ranked source being Australia, but at just 10.90%.

By tonnage, it shifts. Kazakhstan, a large refiner of gold, accounted for 33.71% by weight compared to 22.45% for Switzerland. Germany and the United Kingdom accounted for just over 10% each. Australia drops to just 2.70%. I wonder if it is possible there are some issues with accuracy in the filings.

The gold enters the United States in the New York metro area, with 93.20% by value and 62.78% by tonnage coming through JFK International. By tonnage, 21.31% comes through the nearby Port of Newark, N.J.

Passenger vehicles

Imports of passenger vehicles slipped from the No. 1 rank in the first quarter of 2024 to No. 2 this year. Growth was modest, up 0.96%, but the third consecutive year at a record pace and the second above $50 billion.

For the third year, Mexico ranked first among U.S. trade partners, a rank Japan had held for five years prior to that. Canada ranked first through March of 2017.

Even though Mexico ranks first, two of the three top ports are East Coast seaports – Baltimore and Brunswick, Ga. – and the third is the Detroit Ambassador Bridge that crosses into Canada. Port Laredo, on the Texas border with Mexico ranks fourth. Baltimore did account for 7.6% of U.S. passenger vehicle imports from Mexico in the first quarter.

Even Japanese passenger vehicles entering the United State enter at East Coast seaports – Newark, Jacksonville and Baltimore account for 36.9% of the total by value – although the Port of Los Angeles ranks first this year at 22% of the total.

Computers

Computer imports jumped 59.05% in the first quarter of 2025 when compared to the same period of 2024 to a record $42.72 billion. In most years, that would be seen as a remarkable increase. This year, it is the third largest among the top five.

China accounted for more than 50% of the total for years, including as recently as 2021. That percentage has steadily declined since then, to 16.64% in 2025.

Picking up that market share have been three countries, Mexico (from 29.65% in 2018, at the onset of Trump’s trade war with China, to 41.31%), Taiwan (2.97% to 18.37%) and Vietnam (0.80% to 13.32%).

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport ranks first for computer imports, accounting for 17.91% of the total in the first three months of the year. O’Hare handles imports from Taiwan, Vietnam and China, among others. The second-, third- and fourth-biggest ports for computer imports are on the U.S.-Mexico border: El Paso, Texas’ Ysleta-Zaragoza International Bridge (16.51%), Port Laredo (11.46%) and Santa Teresa, N.M., a neighbor to El Paso (10.73%).

Oil

Oil was the nation’s fourth-most-valuable import in the first quarter, the lowest ranking this century. It is a testament to the growth of importance of hydraulic fracking, largely in Texas, and former President Barrack Obama’s decision to end the decades-old oil embargo and allow U.S. exports.

For 13 of the first 25 years of the century, oil ranked first – and only once since. It has ranked second in seven of the last 10 years and third only twice ever.

The 2025 total, $36.98 billion, a decline of 4.29%, marks the third consecutive drop in value for the import, one of only two not to set a record in 2023.

The majority of imported U.S. oil continues to come from Canada.

Insulin, hormones, steroids

Like the No. 1 import this year, the No. 5 import – the category that includes insulin, hormones and steroids – jumped more than 1,000% from the previous year. The highest ranking previously was No. 48.

The 2025 total, $34.49 billion, was a $32.22 billion, 1,423% increase over the 2024 total for the same time period. Almost all of the increase and almost all of the total was due to an increase in polypeptides, which are used to make insulin. Insulin is used to treat diabetes.

This year, O’Hare International Airport is accounting for 98.96% of the imports in the category, an increase that began in 2018, when it accounted for just 10.17% of the total, and has been steady.

A possible reason for the massive increase ahead of the announcement of the April 2 tariffs Trump announced might be political. The United States has one of its largest trade deficits with Ireland, the source for 98.81% of the imports this year and a primary source for other medicines.

Vaccines, plasma, blood ‘fractions’

The category that includes vaccines, plasma and blood “fractions” like white blood cells rose to a record $34.47 billion total in the first quarter, an increase of 40.86% when compared to the same three months of 2024.

Increasingly, this category is dominated by immunological medicines, including those to treat cancers, in organ transplants and for serious infections. Accounting for 47.24% of the value of all these imports as recently as 2017, in 2025 that percentage had climbed to 81.72% of the total.

These medicines primarily come from Ireland and Germany but Belgium, Singapore, Switzerland and the Netherlands have all accounted for more than 10% of the total at some point in the last decade.

Ireland and Germany have accounted for more than 40% of the total all but two years since 2017, more than 50% four times.

As was the case with other medical imports, there is a likelihood that imports were rushed to the United States ahead of tariffs Trump had said he would announce on April 2.

Cell phones, related equipment

For the first time in three years, cell phones and related equipment set a record in the first quarter of 2025, another suggestion of an effort to get those imports to cross into the United States before tariffs Trump had said he would announce on “Liberation Day,” April 2.

The 2025 total of $34.07 billion was a 43.65% increase over the 2024 total and a 16.50% increase over the previous high, set in 2022.

The two primary subcategories are fairly evenly split between smart phones and the routers, switches and other equipment required for cellular and other voice, data and image transmissions, each accounting for slightly less than 50% of the total.

That hasn’t changed much in recent years. What has changed is the source of those imports. China accounted for 64.20% of the total in 2018, the year Trump began the trade war with China; in 2025, that percentage had fallen to 32.80%. India and Vietnam made the largest gains – with both receiving attention from Trump in recent weeks, especially India – with the former increasing its market share from 0.12% to 16.89% and the latter from 6.32% to 16.75%.

Chicago’s O’Hare International is the leading entry point for cell phones and equipment, with 40.88% of the market this year. Los Angeles International Airport ranks second at 11.15%.

Medicines in individual doses

Medicines in individual doses increased 41.29% when compared to the same three months of 2024, rising above $30 billion for the first time to $31.16 billion.

In fact, six of the top 10 imports topped $30 billion for the first time in the January through March period, a further suggestion that the imports were being rushed in to avoid Trump’s then unknown but feared tariff plans. The exceptions are passenger vehicles and oil, which have done so repeatedly, and the No. 9 import, returned exports without change, and the No. 10 import, motor vehicle parts.

The category of medicines in individual doses, generally in pill form, is a wide-ranging, “catch-all” category. The largest subgroup within the category are drugs called “antineoplastics,” which are meant to inhibit cell growth, and “immunosuppressives,” most commonly associated with the prevention of organ rejection after a transplant.

They account for about one-third of the total, with other large drug types being cardiovascular, antidepressant, antiviral and anticonvulsant.

It should come as no surprise, if you have read this far, that Switzerland is a prime source for these drugs and Chicago’s O’Hare International a leading entry point into the United States.

What is a little different here is that India ranks second behind Switzerland, given its strength in generics. Ireland is third. By tonnage, India ranks first, with 44.29% of the total.

By port of entry, Port Huron’s Blue Water Bridge ranks second, ahead of JFK International Airport.

Returned exports, without change

Sometimes something gets exported and is returned to the United States without undergoing any change. That can include displays for trade shows, for example, or something that is defective or broken and is being returned so it can be repaired in the United States. That could include aviation parts, automotive parts, other technology or other machinery.

Through the first quarter, the category rose to a record $25.24 billion on a 12.08% increase. Slightly less than 50% of these imports arrived from Canada (16.21%), Mexico (8.52%), Ireland (7.82%), the United Kingdom (7.42%) and Germany (7.37%).

Although Census does not release specifics on what these imports are, it would be reasonable to expect automotive and aviation parts are what is reentering from Canada and Mexico. From Ireland, the returns could tie to the pharmaceutical or other medical industries. Germany and the United Kingdom could have both automotive and pharma and other healthcare products returning to the United States.

Lending further credence to the type of exports being returned falling into aviation, automotive, medical and other technology products, is that by value two-thirds fly – meaning, generally speaking, high value and light weight. Another factor for the shipping method used could be time; air cargo is considerably faster than the other two modes. Through the first quarter, $6.1 billion of the $9.1 billion total entered as air cargo, with $2.05 billion as ocean freight and the remainder crossing over land.

Motor vehicle parts

Motor vehicle part imports slipped $1.44 billion in the first quarter, when compared to the first quarter of 2024. That was the second largest drop among the top 10 and the fourth largest among all 1,200-plus import categories.

In addition to No. 4 oil and No. 10 motor vehicle parts, the list includes No. 12 gasoline and other refined petroleum products down $2.07 billion, three positions and out of the top 10 for the first time in at least two decades; and No. 52 solar panels, down 32 positions, and off $2.98 billion.

Why motor vehicle parts imports would decline could be a sense in the automotive industry that with tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in place, critical to automotive manufacturing, and tariffs in place on passenger vehicle imports, which would cause prices to increase, “front-loading” might be the right step for other imports but the wrong one for motor vehicle parts.

Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge bore the brunt of the $1.44 billion decline, at $864.10 million, which was a 32.63% decline. Imports into Port Laredo, the nation’s leading gateway, dropped $203.94 million.

Imports from Mexico and Canada each fell more than $300 million but those from Germany fell the most, down $408.53 million. That had the biggest impact on the Port of Charleston, the Port of Newark, Detroit’s Ambassador Bridge and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport in South Carolina. All four, which accounted for two-thirds of the motor vehicle part imports from Germany, registered declines of at least 79%.

The bottom line is that Trump’s unpredictable and erratic trade policy is leading to record imports, including for most of the top 10 U.S. imports. What remains to be seen are at least two things: first, how the supply chain handles what could become a bottleneck at the warehousing and retail stages if demand slows; and second, regardless whether Trump actually creates any certainty with tariffs in the coming months, if the record pace will peter out within the next month or two.