WASHINGTON–The U.S. trade deficit in home furnishings deepened in April, growing 14.4 percent, or well beyond the 8 percent increase in the deficit for all goods and services.
Although both imports and exports of home goods increased during the month, the surge in imports, at 12 percent over March, was more than double that of exports.
Economists define a deficit as an imbalance in which imports outweigh exports. A trade surplus, as in China, reflects the opposite ratio.
Of the 15 categories of home products tracked by HFN, only two—household laundry equipment, and dishwashers and compactors—showed a decline in the trade imbalance. In both of those categories, imports dropped. For dishwashers and compactors, exports surpassed those in March.