US Posts Record Trade Deficit in 2021

Shipping containers, including one labelled "China Shipping," are stacked at the Paul W. Conley Container Terminal in Boston, Mass., on May 9, 2018. Brian Snyder/Reuters

WASHINGTON—The U.S. trade deficit surged to a record high in 2021 as imports increased sharply amid the restocking of shelves by businesses to meet robust domestic demand.

The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that the trade deficit increased 27.0 percent last year to an all-time high of $859.1 billion. The deficit was at $676.7 billion in 2020.